Validation of the Parental Facilitation of Mastery Scale–II

Objective To develop a more reliable and comprehensive version of the Parental Facilitation of Mastery Scale (PFMS) Method In Study 1, 387 undergraduates completed an expanded PFMS (PFMS‐II) and measures of parenting, perceived control, responses to early life challenges, and psychopathology. In Study 2, 182 trauma‐exposed community participants completed the PFMS‐II and measures of perceived control, psychopathology, and well‐being Results In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis of the PFMS‐II revealed two factors. These factors replicated in Study 2; one item was removed to achieve measurement invariance across race. The final PFMS‐II comprised a 10‐item overprotection scale and a 7‐item challenge scale. In both samples, this measure demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity and was more reliable than the original PFMS. Parental challenge was a unique predictor of perceived control in both samples Conclusion The PFMS‐II is a valid measure of important parenting behaviors not fully captured in other measures.