Background: Although pregnancy and childbirth are physiological processes, fear of childbirth is a common problem that is often associated with requests for cesarean delivery. This study was undertaken to determine the validity and reliability of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire A (W-DEQ [A]) primiparous women in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: This study was conducted on 220 primiparous women with a gestational age of 28-30 weeks referred to health centers in Mashhad. Using demographic questionnaire, Beck’s Anxiety Inventory, Beck’s Depression Inventory, and the W-DEQ (A), for determining the validity and reliability of the W-DEQ (A), first two linguists translated the questionnaire into Persian; then, two other linguists translated the Persian version back into English. The content validity of this version was then assessed by expert faculty members. The final version was sent to the questionnaire’s original developers (Klass Wijma and Barbro Wijma) and then used after their approval. Factor analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The result of actor analysis revealed six factors, forming 58.8% of the total variance. The reliability of this questionnaire was confirmed with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.84, and the fear of childbirth was found to be correlated with Beck’s anxiety (r=0.414) and depression (r=0.287) scores. Conclusion: The W-DEQ (A) is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the fear of childbirth and is recommended to be used for measuring the fear of childbirth among Iranian women. |
- Karabulutlu O, Calik KY, Akar N. Fear of childbirth and related obstetric variables. Nursing Practice Today. 2016;3:161-70.
- Nasiry F, Sharifi S. Relationship between Fear of Childbirth and Personality Type in Pregnant Women. The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility. 2013;16:18-25. doi: 10.22038/ijogi.2013.1901. Persian.
- Andaroon N, Kordi M, Kimiaei SA, Esmaeili H. Relationship between Intensity of fear of Childbirth with choosing mode of delivery in Primiparous Women. The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility. 2017;20:68-75. Persian.
- Khorsandi M, Ghofranipour F, Heydarnia AR, FaghihZadeh S, Vafaei M, Rousta F, et al. The effect of childbirth preparation classes on childbirth fear and normal delivery among primiparous women. Arak Medical University Journal. 2008;11:29-36. Persian.
- Wijma K, Wijma B, Zar M. Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ; a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 1998;19:84-97. PubMed PMID: 9638601.
- Rouhe H, Salmela-Aro K, Toivanen R, Tokola M, Halmesmaki E, Ryding EL, et al. Group psychoeducation with relaxation for severe fear of childbirth improves maternal adjustment and childbirth experience--a randomised controlled trial. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2015;36:1-9. doi: 10.3109/0167482X.2014.980722. PubMed PMID: 25417935.
- Fenaroli V, Saita E. Fear of childbirth: a contribution to the validation of the Italian version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (WDEQ). TPM Test Psychom Methodol Appl Psychol. 2013;20:131-54.
- Abedi P, Hazeghi N, Afshari P, Fakhri A. The validity and reliability of Persian version of Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (version A) among Iranian nulliparous women. Glob J Health Sci. 2016;9:269. doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v9n2p269.
- Mortazavi F. Validity and reliability of the Farsi version of Wijma delivery expectancy questionnaire: an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Electron Physician. 2017;9:4606-15. doi: 10.19082/4606. PubMed PMID: 28848637; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC5557142.
- World Health Organization [Internet]. Process of translation and adaptation of instruments. c2006. Available from: https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/research_tools/translation/en/
- Afrasiabifar A, Yaghmaei F, Abdoli S, Abed SZ. Research tool translation and cross-cultural adaptation. Faculty of Nursing of Midwifery Quarterly. 2006;16:58-67. Persian.
- Beaton DE, Bombardier C, Guillemin F, Ferraz MB. Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine. 2000;25:3186-91. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200012150-00014. PubMed PMID: 11124735.
- Bullinger M, Alonso J, Apolone G, Leplege A, Sullivan M, Wood-Dauphinee S, et al. Translating health status questionnaires and evaluating their quality: the IQOLA Project approach. International Quality of Life Assessment. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998;51:913-23. doi: 10.1016/S0895-4356(98)00082-1. PubMed PMID: 9817108.
- Wild D, Grove A, Martin M, Eremenco S, McElroy S, Verjee-Lorenz A, et al. Principles of Good Practice for the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Measures: report of the ISPOR Task Force for Translation and Cultural Adaptation. Value Health. 2005;8:94-104. doi: 10.1111/j.1524-4733.2005.04054.x. PubMed PMID: 15804318.
- Mundfrom DJ, Shaw DG, Ke TL. Minimum sample size recommendations for conducting factor analyses. International Journal of Testing. 2005;5:159-68. doi: 10.1207/s15327574ijt0502_4.
- Osman A, Kopper BA, Barrios FX, Osman JR, Wade T. The Beck Anxiety Inventory: reexamination of factor structure and psychometric properties. J Clin Psychol. 1997;53:7-14. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199701)53:1<7::aid-jclp2>3.0.co;2-s PubMed PMID: 9120035.
- Kaviani H, Mousavi A. Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Tehran Univ Med J. 2008;66:136-40. Persian.
- Dobson PM, Mohamadkhani P. Psychometric coordinates Beck depression Inventory-2 in pation with major depressive disorder in parital remission periods. Journal of Tavanbakhshi. 2007;8:80-86. Persian.
- Mohammadbeigi A, Mohammadsalehi N, Aligol M. Validity and reliability of the instruments and types of measurments in health applied researches. Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. 2015;13:1153-70. Persian.
- Taheri Z, Khorsandi M, Amiri M, Hasanzade A. Investigating the causes of fear of childbirth in Shahrekord pregnant women, in 2013: A short report. Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. 2015;14:345-50. Persian.
- Kanani S, Allahverdipour H. Self-Efficacy of choosing delivery method and labor among pregnant women in Pars-Abad city. J Educ Community Health. 2014;1:39-47. doi: 10.20286/jech-010239
- Erkaya R, Karabulutlu Ö, Çalık KY. Defining childbirth fear and anxiety levels in pregnant women. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2017;237:1045-52. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.151.
|