Development and testing of the parental coping strategy inventory (PCSI) with children with cancer in Taiwan

Rationale. This Study describes the development and psychometric testing of the parental coping strategy inventory (PCSI). Methods. The PCSI was developed oil the basis of previous qualitative study oil the Taiwanese parental adaptation process, when caring for children wi th cancer. In order to develop the measure of parental coping strategy inve ntory (PCSI), relevant parameters or items for the assessment subscales wer e then identified and tested in a three-stage process: item development, co ntent validity testing and reliability testing. The PCSI consisted of 48 it ems in 12 scales after item selection, and the internal consistency of the scales were acceptable. In order to test the psychometric characteristics o f the PCSI, data were collected from 183 mothers with children with cancer. Results. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a good overall model fit of the construct validity of PCSI. In order to test the generalizability of t he factor structure, mothers with children with epilepsy were used. The fac torial validity of PCSI was supported from the population of those mother w ith children with epilepsy. Conclusions. This version of the PCSI was developed with an explicit prior conceptual model based on grounded qualitative Study findings. The PCSI is a specified coping behaviour measure with the conceptual framework that ada ptation problems can be solved through specific coping strategies. It can b e administered in 20 minutes and is the first documented measure of the ada ptation process administered directly to Taiwanese parents. It demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties and Could be used as a quick screening instrument in evaluating parental problems when caring for children with ca ncer as well as chronic illness (such as epilepsy, as tested). It Could als o be used as a predictor of parental adaptation outcome. This report presen t,, preliminary data on the initial instrument development and psychometric properties of PCSI.