Development and Validation of the Parental Anxiety over a Child’s Education Scale: Evidence from China

This study was conducted to develop a self-report Parental Anxiety over Children’s Education Scale (PACES) and examine its psychometric properties in China. The study began with a qualitative phase to develop the scale’s items pool, then exploratory factor analyses with a sample of 1042 adults and confirmatory factor analyses with a sample of 1052 adults were conducted to identify the underlying structure of the scale. A PACES consists of 14 items and three dimensions: physiological, behavioral, and cognitive. Supplementary analysis with a number of demographic variables provided rich information about parental anxiety over their children’s education. Our results show that PACES is a valid and reliable instrument to assess parental anxiety over their children’s education in China.