Development and Psychometric Testing of the Peer-Mentor Support Scale for Parents of Children With Type 1 Diabetes and for Youths With Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Peer-Mentor Support Scale (PMSS), a measure of peer-mentor support provided to parents of children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to youths with T1D. A multistage process was undertaken to include the following: item construction based on qualitive data from those who have experienced peer-mentor support, cognitive interviewing with parents and youths, content validity assessment, pilot testing of the scale, and psychometric evaluation of the PMSS with 165 participants. The final version of the PMSS included 17 items, scored on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores corresponding with greater peer-mentor support. The Cronbach's alpha was .85 (n = 165), and the intraclass correlation coefficient was .78 (n = 38). No significant relationship was found between the PMSS score and general social support, suggesting that peer-mentor support is distinct from general social support. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was performed, indicating that the scale was unidimensional and explained 59.3% of the variance in peer-mentor support. The PMSS is a reliable and valid 17-item instrument that can be used to measure the unique contributions of peer mentorship for parents of children with T1DM and for youths with T1DM.