A Critical Evaluation of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) in a Head Start Population

Abstract

Examines psychometric characteristics of the 36-item Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) in a low-income, predominantly minority population. Relations between the PSI-SF, demographic, and psychosocial factors associated with parenting stress were examined. Internal consistencies for the PSI-SF were very good to excellent. However, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that a 3-factor model comprised of Parental Distress, Difficult Child, and Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscales was only marginally superior to a single-factor model. A series of multiple regression analyses examining the relation of psychosocial and demographic measures to PSI-SF subscales were more supportive of the 3-factor model proposed by Abidin (1995). As anticipated, the PSI-SF Difficult Child subscale was most strongly associated with a measure of child oppositionality, and the Parental Distress subscale was most highly associated with self-reported psychological symptoms and low income. Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction was associated with parent reports of psychological symptoms as well as low income and education. The results appear to support the use of the PSI-SF with lower socioeconomic, primarily African American mothers. Additionally, the data provide indirect support for the generalizability of a 3-factor model of parenting stress.

Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations.

“…Instead, we assessed parent report of distress in the parent-child relationship, a construct associated with observed parenting and later child problems (Reitman, Currier, & Stickle, 2002). The 6-item Dysfunctional Interaction scale from the Parental Stress Index (Abidin, 1997;Reitman, Currier, & Stickle, 2002) assesses distress in the parent-child relationship (e.g., "My child smiles at me much less than I expected"). Cronbach's alphas were .79 for mothers and .77 for fathers.…”

Factors Influencing Female Caregivers' Appraisals of Their Preschoolers' Behaviors

“…Index and strong correlations between the short form and the full version have been reported (total stress score .94, parent distress .92, difficult child .87, and parent child dysfunctional interaction .73) (Reitman et al, 2002). Initial internal consistency assessed on primarily White (87%), married (88%) mothers of preschool children was strong (total stress .91, parental distress .87, parent-child dysfunctional interaction .80, and difficult child .85) (Ippen, Kuendig, & Mayorga, 2005 (Reitman et al, 2002).…”

“…The PSI-SF consisted of 36 questions which were Likert-scaled from 1 to 5 (1= strongly disagree, 5= strongly agree) (Reitman, Currier, & Stickle, 2002). It yielded a total parenting stress score and three subscale scores (Parental Distress, Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction, and Difficult Child) each derived from 12 questions (Anthony et al, 2005).…”

“…The Difficult Child subscale reflected the female caregiver"s view of the child"s temperament, defiance, and overall demanding characteristics the child possesses (Anthony et al, 2005). Possible range of scores on the total form was from 36 to 180 and on each of the subscales, scores could range from 12 to 60 (Reitman et al, 2002). Higher scores indicated greater parenting stress (Haskett, Ahern, Ward, & Allaire, 2006).…”

“…Initial internal consistency assessed on primarily White (87%), married (88%) mothers of preschool children was strong (total stress .91, parental distress .87, parent-child dysfunctional interaction .80, and difficult child .85) (Ippen, Kuendig, & Mayorga, 2005 (Reitman et al, 2002).…”