Revision of a Parental Stress Scale for use on a pediatric general care unit.

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to test and evaluate the psychometric properties of a revised Parental Stressor Scale: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PSS:PICU) for use on a pediatric general care unit (PSS:GCU). The sample consisted of 403 parents of hospitalized children in a large military Mid-Atlantic medical center. Reliability and validity were assessed by examining the modified scale using factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, item analysis, and concurrent validity. Factor analysis supported the subscales on the PSS:PICU. Internal consistency of the PSS:GCU produced a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92 for the total scale similar to the PSS:PICU scale, with the reliabilities for the subscales ranging from 0.70 to 0.92. Significant correlations were found between the total scores of the PSS:GCU and the Family Inventory of Life Events (FILE), a measure of general life stress. The results of psychometric testing suggest that the PSS:GCU is a reliable and valid scale to measure parental stress in general pediatric care units.