Parenting Stress of Low-Income Parents of Toddlers and Preschoolers: Psychometric Properties of a Short Form of the Parenting Stress Index

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study examines psychometric properties of 2 scales of the Parenting Stress Index—Short Form (PSI—SF) in a sample of preschool children from low-income families. Design. The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Parental Distress and Parent—Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscales were assessed for 1122 Early Head Start parents of 15 (n = 959), 25 (n = 899), and 37-month-old (n = 845) children in a multisite study. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) compared the fit of 2-factor scales that are recommended by the developer with theoretically derived 5-factor scales. Results. CFA indicated that the 5-factor scales fit the data better than the 2-factor scales. Both 2 and 5-factor scales had high internal consistency, and the pattern of relations between the new scales and validity constructs support their usefulness. Conclusions. The PSI—SF scales can be helpful in clinical applications because the proposed scales clarify relations between parent and child outcomes and s...