Validation of the parenting competence scale for parents with young children (PCS-YC)

Parenting competences have a major influence on children's development and well-being. The objective of this study was to validate the Parenting Competence Scale for Parents with Young Children (PCS-YC) from a preventive psycho-socio-educative approach. After performing Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis with data collected from a random sample of 1684 Spanish parents with young children, the scale includes 15 items classified into five factors explaining 42.7% of the variance: F1-Self-Regulation, F2-Self-Esteem, F3-Promotion of Children's Self-Esteem; F4-Imposition for Conflict Resolution, and F5-Not-Assertive Communication. The selected factors are in line with the five parenting competences categories proposed by [Azar, S. T., Lauretti, A. F., & Loding, B. V.(1998). The evaluation of parental fitness in termination of parental rights cases: a functional-contextual perspective. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1(2), 77-100], regarding child abuse and childhood injury prevention. The reliability values and general psychometric properties of the scale, together with its length and easy application make it worth in different areas which requires an assessment of parenting competences regarding young children.