The Perceived Parental Support (PPS) Scale: Validity and reliability in the 2006 youth in Europe substance use prevention survey

Parental support has been shown to reduce mental distress among adolescents; however, it is not known whether perceived parental support is a valid and reliable construct across culture. Using data from 23,605 14- to 15-year-olds across eight European cities we assessed the validity and reliability of the Perceived Parental Support (PPS) Scale. The distributional properties of the scale show a consistent pattern throughout the participating cities and Cronbach's Alpha varies from .77 to .87. Fit statistics for the factor structure of the PPS were analyzed in three models using confirmatory factor analysis with AMOS 5 implementation of structural equation modeling. All models show an adequate fit to the data with the third and final model revealing a close to perfect fit with a comparative fit index of .988 and a root mean square error of approximation of .030. We also compared the PPS Scale with the SCL-90 subscale on depressed mood and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Correlations between the PPS and depressed mood (range -.24 to -.33) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (range .25 to .38) were reasonably consistent across the cities. More research on the PPS scale, including measurement invariance analyses between genders and across cultures, is recommended.