The Polish Version of the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire: Preliminary Psychometric Properties and Links with Parental Burnout, Mental Health Outcomes, and Emotion Beliefs

TL;DR

This study introduces a Polish version of a questionnaire measuring how parents help their children regulate emotions, showing it is reliable and linked to better mental health outcomes.

Contribution

The first Polish version of the PACER questionnaire is introduced with preliminary evidence of its psychometric properties and clinical relevance.

Findings

PACER subscales showed good-to-excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha ≥0.83).

Adaptive strategies like reappraisal were linked to lower parental burnout and psychopathology symptoms.

PACER scores were statistically distinct from maladaptive emotion beliefs, showing good discriminant validity.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: This study presents a brief report on the preliminary psychometric properties of a first Polish version of the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire. The PACER measures ten emotion regulation (ER) strategies parents use to assist their children in their ER. We aimed to examine PACER’s internal consistency reliability, convergent, divergent and discriminant validity. Methods: The sample included 74 Polish-speaking parents aged from 27 to 50, recruited in 2025. Along with the PACER, we used a robust set of psychometric tools for measuring parental burnout, anxiety and depression symptoms, somatic complaints, well-being, and beliefs about emotions. Results: All PACER subscale scores demonstrated good-to-excellent internal consistency reliability (i.e., Cronbach’s alpha of ≥0.83). Encouraging adaptive strategies (e.g., reappraisal) in one’s children was associated with better outcomes (e.g., lower parental burnout and psychopathology symptoms), whereas maladaptive strategies (e.g., avoidance) were associated with worse outcomes. We also demonstrated that PACER strategy scores were statistically separable from maladaptive beliefs about emotions, indicating good discriminant validity. Conclusions: Overall, the Polish PACER demonstrated promising psychometric properties and strong clinical relevance. These findings can help to inform interventions targeted at improving parents’ capacity to help their children regulate emotions, which in turn may help to prevent parental burnout.