Developing the parent awareness scale for children's psychosexual and psychosocial development levels

To ensure that children grow and develop in a healthy manner, it is crucial for parents to consciously monitor their children's developmental processes. In this process, it is important not only to focus on physical development but also to observe psychosocial and psychosexual development and identify deviations from the norm. The aim of this study is to develop the "Parental Awareness Scale for Children's Psychosexual and Psychosocial Development Levels." Within this scope, the research is a methodological study. The population of the study consists of parents with children under the age of 18. A sample of 710 parents registered at five family health centers in the city center of Trabzon was selected for the study. The research was conducted between January and December 2023, and the data collection tools used were the " Sociodemographic Information Form " and the draft version of the "Parental Awareness Scale for Children's Psychosexual and Psychosocial Development Levels." The validity of the developed scale was assessed through content validity, criterion-related validity, and construct validity. According to the results of the exploratory factor analysis, the scale consists of five sub-dimensions, namely infancy period (8 items), play period (8 items), adolescence period (5 items), preschool period (7 items), and school period (4 items), totaling 32 items. This structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, and goodness-of-fit indices were determined as CMIN/df=1.295, GFI=0.91, CFI=0.98, RMSEA=0.03, and RMR=0.01. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was determined as 0.84. To assess the stability of the scale, a test-retest method was applied. As a result of all analyses, the "Parental Awareness Scale for Children's Psychosexual and Psychosocial Development Levels" was identified as a valid and reliable tool for measuring parents' awareness levels.