This paper reports the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) developed by Berry and Jones examined on a sample of 257 Chinese parents. Results indicate that with the exclusion of one item, the 17-item scale scores have high internal consistency. The scale correlates with the Index of Parental Attitudes and discriminates between adjusted and maladjusted groups of parents. Principal component analysis suggests two interpretable factors, namely, parental strain and parental satisfaction. It is concluded that the 17-item PSS is suitable for researchers who need a brief scale to assess parental stress among the Chinese.

Key words: Parental stress, parental satisfaction, parental stress scale, parental assessment, parent-child relationships