Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Affective Lability Scale-18 in a Community Sample of Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Abstract

Affective instability (AI) as a transdiagnostic concept is strongly correlated with an array of psychopathologies. However, studies on mood symptoms in the perinatal period focus largely on depression and anxiety. AI research, including the validation of instruments, tends to be neglected, although AI has been recognized as a prominent feature in perinatal women. We used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the factor structure of Affective Lability Scale-18 (ALS-18), a widely used tool in assessing AI, in a community sample of 202 perinatal women. The findings revealed that ALS-18 can be an effective instrument in assessing affective instability in perinatal women.

Keywords:

• Affective Lability Scale
• confirmatory factor analysis
• perinatal women

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the women who participated in this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).