Description of the Questionnaire

The Parental Stress Scale (PSS) is a brief self-report questionnaire consisting of 18 items, developed by Berry and Jones in 1995, aiming to capture both the positive and negative aspects of parenthood. The questions address areas such as emotional benefits, personal development, but also demands on resources, feelings of pressure, and stress. Completion takes approximately ten minutes, and it can be used by mothers, fathers, or other caregivers of children of various ages.

Data Analysis and Use

The scale is answered on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1, corresponding to “Strongly disagree,” to 5, corresponding to “Strongly agree.” Items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, and 18 are reverse-scored. The total score ranges from 18 to 90, with lower scores indicating lower levels of parental stress. The data can be used to calculate the overall stress index, to investigate correlations with other variables such as anxiety, depression, or family functioning, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of parental support interventions.

Aim

The aim of the PSS is to assess the level of stress experienced by parents, emphasizing both the burdens and the positive aspects of parenthood. It is used in research and clinical settings to understand the impact of parenthood on psychological well-being, to evaluate parental support programs, and to identify parents in need of additional assistance.

Calibration

The scale has been tested in various populations with good psychometric properties. It has demonstrated good internal consistency across different samples, while both four-factor and two-factor structural models have been proposed. Test–retest reliability has been found to be satisfactory, with score stability over a six-week period. Convergent validity has been confirmed through strong correlations with measures of anxiety, depression, and family functioning, while discriminant validity has also been documented. The scale has been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, and Hindi, with positive validation results.

References

Berry, J. O., & Jones, W. H. (1995). The parental stress scale: Initial psychometric evidence. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12(3), 463–472.
Algarvio, S., Leal, I., & Maroco, J. (2018). Parental stress scale: Validation study with a Portuguese population of parents of children from 3 to 10 years old. Journal of Child Health Care, 22(4), 563–576.
Harding, L., Murray, K., Shakespeare-Finch, J., & Frey, R. (2020). Understanding the Parental Stress Scale with a foster carer cohort. Family Relations, 69(4), 865–879.
Leung, C., & Tsang, S. K. (2010). The Chinese parental stress scale: Psychometric evidence using Rasch modeling on clinical and nonclinical samples. Journal of Personality Assessment, 92(1), 26–34.
Pontoppidan, M., Nielsen, T., & Kristensen, I. H. (2018). Psychometric properties of the Danish Parental Stress Scale: Rasch analysis in a sample of mothers with infants. PLoS ONE, 13(11), e0205662.
Zelman, J. J., & Ferro, M. A. (2018). The parental stress scale: Psychometric properties in families of children with chronic health conditions. Family Relations, 67(2), 240–252.