Parenting Stress Index – Short Form

What it measures

Measures stress in the parent-child relationship across three domains: distress experienced in the parental role, perceptions of dysfunctional interaction with the child, and child behavioural characteristics that make parenting difficult. Widely used in paediatric, developmental, and family clinical research.

Response format

Likert (1–5, strongly agree to strongly disagree); total 36–180

Representative items

• I feel trapped by my responsibilities as a parent. (Parental Distress)
• I find myself giving up more of my life to meet my children's needs than I ever expected. (Parental Distress)
• My child rarely does things for me that make me feel good. (Parent-Child Interaction)
• My child seems to cry or fuss more than most children. (Difficult Child)
• My child gets upset easily over the smallest thing. (Difficult Child)

This is a licensed instrument — representative items are shown for reference only. Obtain the original scale materials from the publisher before use in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Requires purchase from PAR (Psychological Assessment Resources). Three subscale scores and a Total Stress score. Scores >=90th percentile suggest clinically significant parenting stress. Widely used in paediatric psychology, child welfare, and early intervention research. The Defensive Responding scale identifies parents who may be minimising stress.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Abidin, R.R. (1995). Parenting Stress Index, Third Edition: Professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.

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