Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Testing of the Short Form of Iranian Childbirth Self Efficacy Inventory

BACKGROUND: To assess maternal confidence in her ability to cope with labor, a measure of childbirth self efficacy is necessary. OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to assess the cultural adaptation and psychometric testing of the short form of childbirth self-efficacy Inventory among Iranian pregnant women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this descriptive-methodological study, we investigated 383 Iranian pregnant women in the third trimester. They were recruited from the outpatient prenatal care clinic of Taleghani Hospital and an urban health center from August to November 2011. Content validity was evaluated by a panel of specialists after adding two religious items. The women completed the inventory and the demographic characteristics questionnaire in an interview room. The internal consistency and construct validity were assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, respectively. Known group analysis on gravity assessed the discriminant validity of the measure. RESULTS: Content validity of the short form of the Iranian childbirth self-efficacy Inventory was confirmed. Factor analyses supported the conceptual two-factor structure of measure and hence supported its construct validity. The internal consistency was approved for the total scale and both subscales. The instrument differentiated prim gravid from multigravida women in the total scale and the efficacy expectancy subscale. CONCLUSIONS: Validity and reliability of the measure supports the use of the short form of the instrument as a clinical and research instrument in measuring childbirth self-efficacy among Iranian pregnant women.