Abstract
This study was conducted to develop a self-report Parental Anxiety over Children’s Education Scale (PACES) and examine its psychometric properties in China. The study began with a qualitative phase to develop the scale’s items pool, then exploratory factor analyses with a sample of 1042 adults and confirmatory factor analyses with a sample of 1052 adults were conducted to identify the underlying structure of the scale. A PACES consists of 14 items and three dimensions: physiological, behavioral, and cognitive. Supplementary analysis with a number of demographic variables provided rich information about parental anxiety over their children’s education. Our results show that PACES is a valid and reliable instrument to assess parental anxiety over their children’s education in China.
Highlights
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A specialized tool was developed to assess parental anxiety over their children’s education.
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The Parental Anxiety over Children’s Education Scale (PACES) was validated by a large sample from China.
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Parents’ psychological control and autonomy support were associated with parental anxiety over their children’s education.
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It provided an empirical study to further clarify the underlying structure of parental anxiety over children’s education.
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This research was supported by a grant from Zhejiang Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences Circles (Grant No. 2021N100). The funding body had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of the manuscript.
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Wu, W., Kaur, A., Liang, Q. et al. Development and Validation of the Parental Anxiety over a Child’s Education Scale: Evidence from China. J Child Fam Stud 32, 2532–2545 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02626-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02626-9