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Evaluation of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale in Mothers of Infants

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Abstract

One of the most frequently used measures to assess parents’ assessment of their parenting ability is the Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) Scale. However, there is limited psychometric evaluation of the measure with samples of mothers of infants. This paper examines the psychometric properties of the PSOC in a heterogeneous sample of mothers of infants between the ages of 2 and 12 months of age. To capture a diverse sample, data were obtained from two studies of mothers of infants. All participants (n = 218) completed the 17-item PSOC at one time point during the postpartum period along with information about maternal age and education. Additional measures for the purpose of examining convergent validity assessed mothers’ self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and social support. The characteristics of the mothers differed significantly between the two subsamples except for their PSOC scores. Despite these differences, within each subsample the PSOC total and subscale scores were internally consistent and significantly, moderately correlated with the three psychosocial measures confirming the PSOC’s construct validity when administered to mothers of infants. Future studies should continue to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PSOC with varied samples of mothers as well as fathers.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this work was provided by Grants from the BlueCross BlueShield Tennessee Health Foundation and the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Iota Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, and by the National Center for Research Resources, Grant UL1 RR024975-01, now at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant 2 UL1 TR000445-06. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schools of Nursing and Medicine (Pediatrics), Vanderbilt University, 366 Frist Hall, 461 21st Ave South, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA

    Sharon M. Karp

  2. Schools of Nursing and Medicine (Pediatrics), Vanderbilt University, 524 Godchaux Hall, 461 21st Ave South, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA

    Melanie Lutenbacher

  3. School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, 421 Godchaux Hall, Nashville, TN, USA

    Kenneth A. Wallston

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  1. Sharon M. Karp
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  2. Melanie Lutenbacher
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  3. Kenneth A. Wallston
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Correspondence to Sharon M. Karp.

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Karp, S.M., Lutenbacher, M. & Wallston, K.A. Evaluation of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale in Mothers of Infants. J Child Fam Stud 24, 3474–3481 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0149-z

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