Italian version of the Parental Attitudes Scales (PAD): preliminary results of the validation study

Background: the Parental Attitudes Scales (PAD) is a 46-item self-administered questionnaire measuring parental attitudes. We had the aim to validate the Italian version. Methods: the PAD was administered to 366 Italian parents (177 males, 189 females) having children between three months and eight years. Principal Component Analyses were conducted and alpha coefficients explored. The concurrent validity was examinated correlating the PAD scores with those of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) and the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Test-retest reliability was studied. Findings: PCA analyses suggested that several items of the questionnaire perform poorly. Results supported a three-factor solution consisting of 38 items and accounting for 23,4% of the variance. Cronbach’s Alpha for the short version was 0.72. The PAD scores had statistically significant correlations with the PANAS and the FAD dimensions and were stable over the time. Discussion: the short version of the questionnaire seems valid and reliable.