Psychometric evaluation of the postpartum specific anxiety scale – research short-form among Iranian women (PSAS-IR-RSF)

Abstract

Background The increasing prevalence of postpartum anxiety as a common psychological problem affects a large part of women’s lives. Despite the existence of tools in this field, but due to the lack of specificity in reflecting postpartum anxiety, it is necessary to have a specific tool to screen it. Since the psychometric evaluation of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale-Research Short-Form (PSAS-RSF) among Iranian women has not been assessed in Iran until now, so we decided to conduct this study with the aim of psychometric evaluation of the PSAS-IR-RSF. Methods We included 180 women (six weeks to six months postpartum) in the study by random sampling during the period from December 2021 to June 2022. We examined the validity of the PSAS-IR-RSF tool in terms of face, content and construct (through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses). We used internal consistency and test-retest reliability to determine the reliability of the scale. Results In the present study, content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) of the PSAS-IR-RSF tool were equal to 0.91 and 0.97, respectively. We extracted a four-factor structure through the process of exploratory factor analysis. The values of fitting indices confirmed the validity of the model. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was equal to 0.72 and intra-class correlation coefficient (with 95% confidence interval) was 0.97 (0.98 to 0.93). Conclusions The Persian version of the PSAS-IR-RSF is a valid and reliable tool for the specific evaluation of postpartum anxiety among Iranian women.

Postpartum-Specific Anxiety and Maternal–Infant Bonding: A Predictive Validity Study amongst Italian Women

“…The PSAS was originally developed as an English-language tool [ 20 ] and contains these four factors: maternal competence and bonding anxieties (15 items), infant safety and welfare anxieties (11 items), practical infant care anxieties (7 items), and psychosocial adjustment to motherhood (18 items). To date, there have been two derivative short-form research studies [ 38 , 39 ], and the tool has been translated and validated in French [ 40 ], Spanish [ 41 ], Chinese [ 42 ], Persian [ 43 ], and Italian [ 14 ], the latter of which has been used in this study. The scale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.94).…”

The Italian language postpartum specific anxiety scale [PSAS-IT]: translation, psychometric evaluation, and validation

“…The English-language PSAS has been subject to modification first as a 12-item research short-form for use in global crises [PSAS-RSF-C; ( 30 )] developed during the pandemic; and also as a 16-item research short-form [PSAS-RSF; ( 31 )]. The scale has also received broad global interest and approved translations have been published in Chinese [PSAS-CN; ( 32 )], Persian [PSAS-IR; ( 33 ), PSAS-IR-RSF; ( 34 ), PSAS-IR-RSF-C; ( 35 )], French [PSAS-FR; ( 36 )]; and Spanish [PSAS-ES; ( 37 )]; with other translations currently ongoing in Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, Palestinian Arabic, amongst others. In each country, the PSAS demonstrated good acceptability, validity and test–retest reliability.…”

Correction: Psychometric evaluation of the postpartum specific anxiety scale – research short-form among Iranian women (PSAS-IR-RSF)

“…Following publication of the original article [ 1 ], the authors reported an error in Table 3 in PDF proof. Table 3 in the PDF version contains incomplete details, but HTML version contains complete details.…”