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Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short Form

Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short Form

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Purpose

The PSI-4-SF is a screening tool used to identify parents experiencing high stress due to their parenting role(s).

Upon identification, clinicians can refer them to other services or educate them about available resources in order to prevent excessive parental stress from having a negative impact on the emotional and behavioral development of their child(ren).

Link to Instrument

Acronym PSI-4-SF

Area of Assessment

Communication
Developmental
Infant & Child Development
Mental Health
Occupational Performance
Quality of Life
Social Relationships
Social Support
Stress & Coping

Assessment Type

Patient Reported Outcomes

Administration Mode

Paper & Pencil

Cost

Not Free

Actual Cost

$152.00

Key Descriptions

  • Subscales:
    1) Parental Distress (PD): personal factors directly related to parenting
    2) Difficult Child (DC): temperament and behavior of the child that influence the parent-child relationship
    3) Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interactions (P-CDI): parent’s perception of the child; whether or not expectations are being met, positive behaviors reinforced, etc.
  • Assessment Characteristics:
    1) 36 items (Likert scale and direct response)
    2) Standardized
    3) Norm-referenced
    4) Administration: approx.10 minutes
    5) Scoring: approx. 5 minutes
  • Minimum/Maximum Scores:
    1) 12 – 60 in each subscale
    2) 36 – 180 total stress score

Number of Items

36

Equipment Required

  • Ballpoint pen or sharp pencil
  • Record/Profile forms

Time to Administer

10 minutes

Required Training

No Training

Age Ranges

18 - 64

years

Instrument Reviewers

Initially reviewed by University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Occupational Therapy Master of Science student Sharon Merritt.

ICF Domain

Activity
Participation

Measurement Domain

Activities of Daily Living
Emotion

Considerations

The PSI-4-SF does not differentiate between causes of stress within each subscale; it is best used as a screening tool rather than a goal/intervention development tool.

Non-Specific Patient Population

back to Populations

Cut-Off Scores

Normative Sample: (Abidin, 2012)

  • Parental Distress (PD): [40, 60]

  • Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interactions (P-CDI): [36, 60]

  • Difficult Child (DC): [40, 60]

  • Total Stress: [114, 180]

  • Defensive Responding: < 10

Normative Data

Normative Sample: (Amidin, 2012)

Percentage of Sample by Parent Role

Parent Role

% of Sample

Mother

51

Father

49

Percentage of Sample by Race/Ethnicity of Mother

Race/Ethnicity of Mother

% of Sample

White

66

Black/African-American

14

Hispanic

14

Other

5

Percentage of Sample by Race/Ethnicity of Father

Race/Ethnicity of Father

% of Sample

White

68

Black/African-American

12

Hispanic

16

Other

4

Percentage of Sample by Marital Status of Mother

Marital Status of Mother

% of Sample

Married

61

Divorced

8

Separated

5

Single, never married

23

Widowed

< 1

Other, not specified

4

Percentage of Sample by Marital Status of Father

Marital Status of Father

% of Sample

Married

74

Divorced

8

Separated

2

Single, never married

16

Widowed

0

Other, not specified

< 1

Percentage of Sample by Annual Household Income of Mother

Annual Household Income
of Mother

% of Sample

Less than $20,000

15

$20,000 - $59,999

41

$60,000 - $99,999

29

Greater than $100,000

15

Percentage of Sample by Annual Household Income of Father

Annual Household Income
of Father

% of Sample

Less than $20,000

7

$20,000 - $59,999

42

$60,000 - $99,999

37

Greater than $100,000

13

Percentage of Sample by Education Level of Mother

Education Level of Mother

% of Sample

Less than high school graduate

16

High school graduate

37

Some college

20

College graduate or higher

28

Percentage of Sample by Education Level of Father

Education Level of Father

% of Sample

Less than high school graduate

17

High school graduate

34

Some college

26

College graduate or higher

22

Note: Normative data were established using the PSI-4; the PSI-4-SF relies on these established data.

Test/Retest Reliability

PSI-SF Normative Sample: (Abidin, 2012)

Test-Retest Coefficients of PSI-SF Subscales

Subscale

Test-Retest Coefficient

Parental Distress

0.85 Good

Difficult Child

0.78 Acceptable

Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction

0.68 Acceptable

Total Stress

0.84 Good

Note. Testing and retesting conditions for the PSI-SF are unknown.

Internal Consistency

Parental Distress: (Abidin, 2012)

  • Excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.90)

Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction: (Abidin, 2012)

  • Good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.89)

Difficult Child: (Abidin, 2012)

  • Good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.88)

Total Stress: (Abidin, 2012)

  • Excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95)

Bibliography

Abidin, R. (2012). Parenting Stress Index: Fourth Edition. Lutz: PAR.

Abidin, R.R., & Wilfong, E. (1989). Parenting stress and its relationship to child health care. Children’s Health Care, 18(2), 114–116.

Anderson, S.B., & Guthery, A.M. (2015). Mindfulness-based psychoeducation for parents of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: An applied clinical project. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 28(1), 43–49.

Touchèque, M., Etienne, A.M., Stassart, C., & Catale, C. (2016). Validation of the French version of the parenting stress index-short form (4th ed.). Journal of Community Psychology, 44(4), 419–425.