Psychometric properties of the Parenting Stress Index with parents of children with autistic disorder.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and the theoretical structure of the Parenting Stress Index-short form (PSI-SF) with Jordanian parents of children with autistic disorder.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design for data collection, the convenience sample of the study was composed of 184 Jordanian parents of children with autistic disorder. The factor structure for the PSI-SF was examined using confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses.

Results: We found that the modified three-factor model (30 items) fits the data significantly better than the 36-item model. The results showed that the 12 items of the Parental Distress sub-scale support the original scale structure. However, items in the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction and Difficult Child sub-scales did not show stability in their structure. The results in this study showed that the PSI-SF in its 30-item model has endorsed the necessary validity of the scale with parents of children with autistic disorder. The study provides information on the effects of Arab culture on the validity of PSI-SF.

Conclusions: It is recommended to use the new factors structure of the PSI-SF with the 30 items in the studies that intend to examine the stress among parents with children with autistic disorder in the Arab world.