The Parenthood Regret Scale among Italian parents: psychometric evidence and network associations with parental identity, reflective functioning, parenting behaviors, and sociodemographic characteristics

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Authors
Carone, Nicola
Tracchegiani, Jacopo
Fontana, Andrea
Benzi, Ilaria Maria Antonietta
Mikolajczak, Moïra
Roskam, Isabelle
Piotrowski, Konrad
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Date
2026-07-22
Publisher
Journal title
Current Psychology
Issue
14
Volume
45
Pages
Pages
1-17
DOI
ISSN
1046-1310
1936-4733
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Weblink
Access date
2026-10-16
Abstract PL
Abstract EN
Parenthood regret, a feeling arising from the judgment that the decision to have children was wrong and the belief that an alternative choice would have led to a better life, is influenced by various demographic, relational, and contextual factors. Despite its significance, large-scale studies on parenthood regret employing validated measures have only emerged in recent years, and our understanding of the phenomenon is in its infancy. This research aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Parenthood Regret Scale (PRS) and expand on its relation with parental identity, reflective functioning, parenting behaviors, and relevant sociodemographics using a network approach. Data were collected from 3,165 parents (81.93% mothers) residing in Italy with children aged 0–18. Study 1 (N = 1,914 parents; 82.34% mothers) assessed the PRS’s factorial structure and invariance across parent gender. Study 2 (N = 1,251 parents; 81.29% mothers) examined the associations among parenthood regret, reflective functioning, parental identity, parenting behaviors, and sociodemographic variables. The PRS exhibited strong psychometric properties and invariance between mothers and fathers. Additionally, the network analysis indicated that parenthood regret showed stronger links to higher reconsideration of commitment, lower identity commitment, higher pre-mentalizing modes, and greater parental rejection. Finally, parenthood regret showed small associations with younger parent age, being a father, unplanned pregnancy, non-partnered status, and raising a child with physical or psychological difficulties. The findings confirm the PRS as a reliable measure for assessing parenthood regret in the Italian context and identify its key correlates.
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Keywords PL
Keywords EN
Parenthood regret
Parental identity
Commitment
Mentalization
Rejection
Keywords other
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 3. Good Health and Well-being ,
SDG 5. Gender Equality ,
SDG 10. Reduced Inequalities
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https://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2622
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cc-by
Except as otherwise noted, this item is licensed under the Attribution licence | Permitted use of copyrighted works
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