Parental Knowledge Scale – PKS
Measures the extent of parental awareness regarding their child's peers, free-time activities, and academic progress from both child and parent perspectives.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Parental Knowledge Scale – PKS was developed by Håkan Stattin & Margaret Kerr (2000). It is designed to measure Parental Knowledge. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents and Parents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 18 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Child Report, Parent Report.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Child Report | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 | 9 |
| Parent Report | 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 | 9 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Most of the time, 5 = Always or almost always.
The scale includes 2 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 9 to 45. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Parental Knowledge: 9 – 22
- Moderate Parental Knowledge: 23 – 31
- High Parental Knowledge: 32 – 45
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Child report alpha = .86, Parent report alpha = .89.
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.