The development and initial validation of the Tokophobia Severity Scale

Abstract

Objective

Severe fear of childbirth (tokophobia; TP) is an understudied and under‐recognised phenomenon that has significant implications for maternal mental health during pregnancy, labour and delivery. The few existing measures of TP are limited by lengthy formats, difficulty scoring and a narrow definition of the TP construct.

Method

The current study examined the psychometric properties of a newly developed self‐report scale, the Tokophobia Severity Scale (TSS), in a sample of 122 female participants.

Results

The final measure consisted of 13 items. The scale demonstrated a unidimensional structure and items demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = .93) and adequate convergent validity with the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire‐Version A.

Conclusions

The findings provide preliminary evidence to suggest that the TSS is a brief, valid and reliable measure that may be used in the future to identify women with TP who may benefit from psychological and supportive interventions prior to delivery.

Key words:

• assessment
• fear of childbirth
• severity
• Tokophobia