Development and psychometric properties of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R)

Hollins Martin, CJ; Martin, CR

Abstract

Objective: to assess factor structure,validity and reliability of the Birth Satisfaction Scale(BSS)and to
develop a short-form version of the tool.
Design: a quantitative design focused on evaluating psychometric properties of the BSS using factor structure, internal consistency,divergent reliability and known groups validity.
Setting: Ayrshire Maternity Unit community midwife bases that serve the obstetric population of Ayrshire, Scotland UK).
Participants: a convenience sample of healthy women(n=228) <10 days postpartum who had delivered a term infant. Data was collected from October 2010 to January 2011.
Measurement: the BSS contains 30 self report items,rated on a 5-point Likert scale that measure women's perceptions of:(1) quality of care provision, (2) women's personal attributes, and(3) stress
experienced during labour (8, 8 and 14 items per factor).
Findings: post data analys is the BSS was reconfigured into the 10 item BSS-Revised(BSS-R)comprised of
three sub-scales that measure distinct but correlated domains of:(1) quality of care provision, (2) women's
personal attributes, and (3) stress experienced during labour. These domains now consist of relatively few
items (4,2 and 4 items per factor),but offer a good fit to the data.
Key conclusions: the BSS-R would appear to be a robust,valid and reliable multidimensional psycho-metric instrument for measuring postnatal women's birth satisfaction. Further research to confirm the veracity of the instruments measurement properties highlighted in the current study is desirable. The BSS-R is available for use at a national/international level from the first author.

Citation

Hollins Martin, C., & Martin, C. (2014). Development and psychometric properties of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R). Midwifery, 30(6), 610-619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.10.006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 9, 2013
• Online Publication Date: Oct 24, 2013
• Publication Date: May 27, 2014
• Deposit Date: May 28, 2014
• Journal: Midwifery
• Print ISSN: 0266-6138
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 610-619
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.10.006
• Keywords: Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS); Labour; Midwifery; Validation
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.10.006