Construct validity of the Parental Alliance Measure in a sample of 1444 Italian parents.

The psychometric properties of the Parental Alliance Measure (PAM) were examined in a large community sample of 1444 Italian parents (722 mothers and 722 fathers) of children aged one to 14 years. Confirmatory Factor Analyses were carried out for the combined sample of parents and confirmed a two correlated factor model, named Communication-Team Work and Respect. Internal consistency estimates of the PAM total score and factors were good. Multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analyses were carried out to assess the structural invariance of PAM across parenting gender role. Furthermore, Students test were carried out to evaluate the influence of parental gender role, confirming findings in the extant literature. Divergent validity of the PAM was supported by its negative correlations with a measure of parenting stress, the Parental Stress Index (PSI-SF; Abidin, 1997). The predictor role of co-parental alliance on both parents’ stress was also assessed.