Validation of the Hebrew Birth Satisfaction Scale – Revised (BSS-R) and its relationship to perceived traumatic labour

ABSTRACT

Objective and background: The Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) is a multi-dimensional measure which is recommended by international clinical guidelines for global use as the birth satisfaction outcome measure of choice. The current investigation sought to develop a Hebrew version of the BSS-R for use in the Jewish–Israeli context and examine the relationship between BSS-R domains and the perception of the experience of labour as traumatic.

Methods: Following review, translation, and back-translation for linguistic equivalence, a Hebrew version of the BSS-R (H-BSS-R) was prepared and psychometrically evaluated using key indices of validity and reliability. Complete multivariate normal data from 288 first-time Jewish Israeli mothers within two years after childbirth was entered into the analysis.

Results: The H-BSS-R was found to have a good fit to the BSS-R tridimensional measurement model, excellent internal consistency, divergent and known-group discriminant validity. Moreover, women who experienced their labour as traumatic had significantly lower H-BSS-R subscale scores than women who reported that their birth experience was non-traumatic.

Conclusion: The H-BSS-R is a robust and valid measure suitable for use with Jewish–Israeli women, as well as for investigating the relationship between traumatic labour and birth satisfaction.

KEYWORDS:

• Birth Satisfaction Scale – Revised (BSS-R)
• birth trauma
• Israel
• Hebrew
• validation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The correlation between the stress and women’s attributes subscales was noted to be >1. Correlation values >1 within a structural equation model may be caused by inherent numeric derivative calculation procedures, an acceptable model where the sample endorses a higher value of factor correlation or model misspecification. Collapsing stress and women’s attributes items into a single factor and thus running a two-factor model (combined factor and quality of care) produces a good model fit (χ²_(df=34) = 92.88, p < 0.01, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.06) with a factor correlation of 0.34 (p < 0.001). The chi-square difference test reveals no significant difference between the three-factor measurement model and this two-factor model (χ² difference = 0.19, df difference = 2, p = 0.91).