Validity Study of the Spanish Version of the Parental Stress Index (PSI-4) in Its Two Forms (Long Form and Short Form).

Background/Objectives: Parental stress is caused by the accumulation of difficulties related to raising children and is directly related to the educational functioning of a family and family dysfunction. The PSI (Parental Stress Index) is an assessment instrument and is considered the gold standard for measuring parental stress; however, there is no official Spanish version of this tool. Methods: Both the PSI-4 long form and short form were administered to a sample of 828 parents of children between 0 and 12 years of age. Results: The discrepancy between the scores of the original typification sample and the Spanish sample necessitates the establishment of specific normative values. Regarding internal consistency, test-retest stability, and construct validity, the results demonstrate consistency with the original study and other adaptation studies. The validity of the theoretical structure of the instrument was studied using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA fit indices in the overall PSI-4 LF model (101 items distributed across 13 first-order factors and two second-order factors) are not satisfactory. Therefore, the methodology used by the author in constructing the PSI-4 was employed, which involved performing two exploratory factor analyses (EFA). The domains of both parents and children exhibit partial replication of the theoretical subscales of the PSI-4. The analysis of the short form of the PSI-4 SF (comprising 36 items distributed across three subscales and a total score) yielded results similar to those of the long form. Conclusions: These results suggest the potential for developing specific standards for the Spanish population and conducting criterion validity studies for the clinical use of all dimensions of the PSI-4 in its two forms (LF and SF).