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The Parental Stressor Scale: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
1University of Kansas.
Insights
This study developed a reliable instrument to measure environmental stressors impacting parents in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). The validated scale helps assess parental stress in the PICU environment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Psychological assessment
- Parental well-being
Background:
- Hospitalized children in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) can expose parents to significant environmental stressors.
- Existing instruments may not adequately capture the multifaceted nature of parental stress within the PICU setting.
- A theoretical framework based on stress theory guided the development of a new assessment tool.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a comprehensive instrument for assessing environmental stressors experienced by parents of children in the pediatric intensive care unit.
- To provide a reliable and valid measure for evaluating the impact of the PICU environment on parental well-being.
- To identify key dimensions of the PICU environment that contribute to parental stress.
Main Methods:
- A three-stage development process was employed, involving item domain establishment, content validity assessment, and scale conceptualization.
- The instrument underwent rigorous reliability and validity testing, including factor analysis, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity analyses.
- The scale was administered to a large cohort of parents (n=675) across multiple pediatric intensive care units.
Main Results:
- The final 62-item instrument demonstrated robust psychometric properties, assessing seven distinct dimensions of the PICU environment.
- Factor analysis confirmed seven orthogonal and invariant factors, supporting the instrument's structural integrity.
- High internal consistency was evidenced by an overall Cronbach's alpha of .95, with subscale coefficients ranging from .72 to .99.
Conclusions:
- The developed instrument is a reliable and valid tool for measuring environmental stressors in the pediatric intensive care unit affecting parents.
- This validated scale can be utilized in clinical and research settings to assess parental stress and inform supportive interventions.
- The findings underscore the importance of evaluating the PICU environment's impact on parental psychological well-being.
Abstract:
This article details the development of an instrument designed to assess the impact of certain environmental stressors in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) on parents of hospitalized children. A theoretical framework based on stress theory and developed by the authors provided the framework for this project. This 62-item scale assessing seven dimensions of the PICU environment was developed in three stages. The first phase in the development of the instrument established the sampling domain of the items, supported content validity, conceptualized the dimensions, developed the scaling, and helped support stability over time. In the second phase of the project, the instrument was administered to 165 parents of children recently discharged from four midwestern ICUs to further evaluate reliability and validity. Results of factor analysis, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity analyses were used to revise the instrument. In the third phase of the project, the revised instrument was administered to 510 parents while their children were in one of five pediatric ICUs. Factor analysis provided seven orthogonal, invariant factors. An alpha coefficient of .95 was obtained for the total instrument; subscale coefficients ranged from .72 to .99 providing support for internal consistency and construct validity.