Andet 7. APR 2021
Validity of the Danish Parental Stress Scale
Udgivelsens forfattere:
- Maiken Pontoppidan
- Signe Boe Rayce
- Tine Nielsen
Socialområdet
Børn, unge og familie
Socialområdet, Børn, unge og familie
Background: Being a parent is both a rewarding and taxing experience, and it is more the rule than the exception for parents to experience parental stress. Being responsible for the well-being and development of children is demanding, and can, at times, be overwhelming; mainly if parents have limited control over the stressors of everyday life. Parental stress is common among parents of children of all ages but is elevated in families characterized by stressors such as poverty, mental health problems, and developmental problems. The Parental Stress Scale (PSS) is a short 18-item measure of perceived stress pertaining to the parenting role, with items scored using a 5-point response scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Aim: The overall aim was to examine the psychometric properties of the Danish PSS, to ascertain whether the PSS is valid for the purposes of research and clinical uses.
Methods: This study examines the construct validity and psychometric properties of the Danish PSS using Rasch and graphical loglinear Rasch models in a sample of parents of 805 2–18-year-old children. The sample was divided into two subsamples of parents to children with known behavior problems (n=234) and parents to children without known behavior problems (n=571). We emphasized analyses of differential item functioning, to ascertain whether the scale yields unbiased scores for subgroups of parents.
Results: The 18-item PSS did not fit the Rasch model or a graphical loglinear Rasch model. After dichotomizing item responses and eliminating items 2 and 11, we found the PSS to consist of two distinct subscales measuring parental stress and lack of parental satisfaction. For the total sample, the Parental Stress subscale fit a very complex graphical loglinear Rasch model with differential item functioning relative to parental education and whether children had behavior problems or not. The Lack of Parental Satisfaction subscale fit a simple graphical loglinear Rasch model with differential item functioning only relative to subsample. When dividing into subsamples of
parents of children with and without behavior problems, the Parental Stress subscale fit a simple graphical loglinear Rasch model, though still with differential item functioning, while the Lack of Parental Satisfaction subscale fit the Rasch model in each subsample of parents. Both subscales performed best for parents of children with behaviour problems.
Conclusions: The PSS should be used in a 16-item version and scored as two subscales. The PSS appears better suited for use among parents of children with behavior problems than within a sample without any known difficulties.
Authors
Aim: The overall aim was to examine the psychometric properties of the Danish PSS, to ascertain whether the PSS is valid for the purposes of research and clinical uses.
Methods: This study examines the construct validity and psychometric properties of the Danish PSS using Rasch and graphical loglinear Rasch models in a sample of parents of 805 2–18-year-old children. The sample was divided into two subsamples of parents to children with known behavior problems (n=234) and parents to children without known behavior problems (n=571). We emphasized analyses of differential item functioning, to ascertain whether the scale yields unbiased scores for subgroups of parents.
Results: The 18-item PSS did not fit the Rasch model or a graphical loglinear Rasch model. After dichotomizing item responses and eliminating items 2 and 11, we found the PSS to consist of two distinct subscales measuring parental stress and lack of parental satisfaction. For the total sample, the Parental Stress subscale fit a very complex graphical loglinear Rasch model with differential item functioning relative to parental education and whether children had behavior problems or not. The Lack of Parental Satisfaction subscale fit a simple graphical loglinear Rasch model with differential item functioning only relative to subsample. When dividing into subsamples of
parents of children with and without behavior problems, the Parental Stress subscale fit a simple graphical loglinear Rasch model, though still with differential item functioning, while the Lack of Parental Satisfaction subscale fit the Rasch model in each subsample of parents. Both subscales performed best for parents of children with behaviour problems.
Conclusions: The PSS should be used in a 16-item version and scored as two subscales. The PSS appears better suited for use among parents of children with behavior problems than within a sample without any known difficulties.
Authors
