Parent Emotional Reaction Questionnaire – PERQ
Measures parental emotional distress, guilt, and somatic reactions following their child's traumatic experience.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Parent Emotional Reaction Questionnaire – PERQ was developed by Judith A. Cohen & Anthony P. Mannarino (1996). It is designed to measure Parental emotional distress in response to child trauma. The scale is intended for use with Parents and primary caregivers of traumatized children.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 15 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 15 to 75. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Distress: 15 – 35
- Moderate Distress: 36 – 55
- High Distress: 56 – 75
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of High internal consistency reported in validation studies (e.g., Holt et al., 2015).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.