Development and psychometric evaluation of the parent-infant caregiving touch scale: A validity and reliability study in a Turkish population

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Parent-Infant Caregiving Touch Scale (PICTS). Design and methods: This methodological and cross-sectional study was conducted between June and July 2025 with 313 parents (157 mothers and 156 fathers) residing in southeastern Turkey, all of whom had infants aged 0-12 months. Data were collected using a Descriptive Information Form and the PICTS. The psychometric properties of the scale were examined through Content Validity Index (CVI), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's Omega, and test-retest reliability analyses. Results: The CFA confirmed the three-factor, 11-item structure of the scale for both mothers and fathers, with acceptable fit indices. Internal consistency coefficients were alpha = 0.810 for mothers and alpha = 0.882 for fathers, with similarly high McDonald's Omega values. In test-retest analyses, Pearson correlation coefficients ranged from r = 0.898 to 0.988, and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) ranged from 0.939 to 0.993. Conclusion: Findings indicate that the Turkish version of the PICTS demonstrates strong psychometric properties and can be used to assess parents' tactile caregiving behaviors toward their infants. Practice implications: The PICTS can assist in identifying parents who exhibit negative tactile interaction patterns in clinical settings and can inform interventions aimed at promoting positive tactile caregiving behaviors through structured assessment. (c) 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Journal

JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC NURSING-NURSING CARE OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES

Year

2025

Volume

85

Pages

713-721

ISSN

0882-5963

DOI

10.1016/j.pedn.2025.10.007

WoS UID

WOS:001604788500001