Validatieon of Scores on the Psychological Empowerment Scale: A Measure of Empowerment for Parents of Children with a Disability

Abstract

This article reports the results of several psychometric analyses that were conducted to provide evidence of construct validity for scores on a measure of psychological empowerment, the Psychological Empowerment Scale (PES), for parents of children with a disability. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate the internal structure of the PES and the reliability of its scores. The results of the confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scores from the four subscales underlying the PES: (a) attitudes of control and competence, (b) cognitive appraisals of critical skills and knowledge, (c) formal participation in organizations, and (d) informal participation in social systems and relationships. Reliability coefficients for the subscale scores and total scale score ranged from .90 to .97. In addition, the PES scores were correlated with other empowerment-related measures. The results of these correlational analyses and group discrimination analyses provided additional evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of the PES subscale and total scale scores.