Psychometric properties of 13-item versions of the maternal and paternal antenatal attachment scales in German

ABSTRACT

Objective

To assess scale reliability and factorial validity of the Maternal and Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale in a German sample.

Background

Prenatal bonding to the child is an important aspect for parents and has been associated with the early parent-child relationship. The maternal and paternal versions of the Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS/PAAS) with the dimensions bonding quality and intensity are among the best-established questionnaires for parental-fetal bonding. However, a German translation of the PAAS and investigations of the factor structure of both MAAS and PAAS are still lacking.

Method

263 women and 128 men from Hamburg, Germany, were assessed during pregnancy (total sample N = 391).

Results

Factor analyses did not support the original factor structures of both scales. Still, two factors equivalent to the original quality and intensity dimensions were identified. Scale reliability for the extracted factors was satisfying to good for both instruments.

Conclusion

The revised 13-item versions for MAAS and PAAS are proposed as reliable and valuable measurements of parental-foetal bonding. The scales contribute to the cross-cultural comparison of research on maternal and paternal-foetal bonding. Identifying parents with bonding difficulties already prenatally can enable specific forms of support addressing the parent-child-relationship in the peripartum period.

Abbreviations

Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS). Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS). confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA). Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR). Comparative Fit Index (CFI). Tucker Lewis Index (TLI). principal axis factoring (PAF). mean (M). standard deviation (SD). standard error (SE). item difficulty (Pi). Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value (KMO)

KEYWORDS:

• Maternal antenatal attachment scale
• paternal antenatal attachment scale
• parental-foetal bonding
• prenatal bonding
• psychometric properties
• factor analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants in the PRINCE and PAULINE study. Furthermore, the authors would like to acknowledge Gudula Hansen, Hella Dick and Mirja Pagenkemper for support in dealing with the participants as well as Lydia Yao Stuhrmann, and Lesley-Ann Straub for support in the data extraction.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by the Jürgen Rickertsen and the Georg & Jürgen Rickertsen foundation (PAULINE study) as well as the German Research Foundation (through funding of the PRINCE study within the Clinical Research Unit 296 ‘Feto-maternal immune cross talk’, AR 232/25-2, DI 2103/2-1, HE 4617/1-1).