The feasibility of an objective measure of the parent-child relationship in health visiting practice: assessment of the Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale

Wellcome Open Research

article

Abigail Dunn¹  Philippa K Bird³  Charlotte Endacott¹  Tracey Bywater¹  Joanna Howes⁵  Josie Dickerson³ 

[1] Health Sciences, University of York;Family Fund;Bradford Institute for Health Research;Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust;Better Start Bradford;Bradford Metropolitan District Council

关键词: parent-infant relationship;    child development;    infant mental health;    psychometrics;    validation study;   

DOI  :  10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17552.2

学科分类：内科医学

来源: Wellcome

【 摘 要 】

Background: Positive parent infant relationships are key to achieving long term child outcomes. Identifying parents who may need support is difficult because of a lack of robust assessment tools. Working in partnership with health services we piloted the Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale (MPAS) in a deprived, multi-ethnic urban community in Bradford, UK. The pilot aimed to assess the clinical utility of MPAS to identify need for support: Was it administered to a representative group of women? Is MPAS valid for this population?Methods: Data were linked to a cohort study in the pilot area (Born in Bradford’s Better Start - BiBBS). Chi Square tests assessed sample representativeness (age, ethnicity, parity, English language, education, deprivation). Exploratory factor analysis explored MPAS’ validity.Results: 563 women in BiBBS were eligible, 210 (37%) completed MPAS.  No differences were found between completers and non-completers, suggestive of a representative sample. In total, 336 women (including a number of women living in the service area who had not participated in BiBBS) completed MPAS in the pilot.  MPAS had ceiling effects and a satisfactory factor structure could not be identified, indicating poor psychometric properties.Conclusions: Health visitors were successful in administering MPAS to a representative sample, but the lack of psychometric robustness indicates that MPAS is unsuitable for routine use in this setting. A gap for such a measure remains.

【 授权许可】

CC BY