2.2.2. Parenting Stress Index—Short Form (PSI)

This is a self-report instrument with 36 items, answered using a 5-point range (1 = “Strongly Disagree” to 5 = “Strongly Agree”) and assesses three dimensions of stress associated with the parenting role: Parental Distress (PD), Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction (PCDI) and perception of the child as a Difficult Child (DC). We used the Portuguese version of Abidin and Santos [43]. Higher scores indicate greater distress associated with the exercise of parenting. The subscale Parental Distress quantifies the individual’s feelings of discomfort with the parenting role. The Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale evaluates the extent to which the parent feels that the child meets the parent’s expectations and the way their interaction makes the parent feel. The Difficult Child subscale focuses on the child’s characteristics and behaviours that facilitate or restrain the parent. The minimum and maximum possible scores are 12-60 for each subscale and 36-180 for the PSI-SF total score. Internal consistency for the present study, estimated by Cronbach’s alpha, was α = 0.87 to PD, α = 0.83 to PCDI, α = 0.86 to DC, and α = 0.93 to PSI [8].