Psychometric Properties of The Parental Stress Scale for Parents of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Parental stress can be debilitating for parents and their families. This is particularly true for parents who have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD). Effective screening and measurement of parental stress leads to accurate and effective intervention. The purpose of this study was to understand the psychometric properties of the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) for families who have a child with I/DD (ages ranging from 1 to 18 years old, with a mean of 5.28). Caregivers of 3220 families who have a child with I/DD (91% diagnosed with ASD) completed the scale. The psychometric properties including internal reliability and factor structure were completed as well as discriminant validity. Results of confirmatory factor analysis with the 18-item scale revealed a poor model fit with three items not meeting minimum factor loading threshold. Given this, the three items were removed, and confirmatory factor analysis was reconducted with 15 items of the PSS. Results revealed good internal consistency and discriminant validity, as well as a good model fit with all 15 items loading above the minimum threshold. The identified two-factor structure is consistent with the dichotomous (rewarding/burdensome) construct of parental stress that Berry and Jones (J Soc Pers Relationsh 12(3):463-472, 1995) originally designed the scale to index. Thus, the 15-item PSS has initial psychometric evidence in a large sample of families with a child with I/DD.