Development of a scale for parent-to-baby emotions: Concepts, design, and factor structure

A scale of parent-to-child emotions: Adaptation, factor structure, and measurement invariance

Emotions that parents feel when they think about their own child are extremely important in determining parenting approaches toward a child. Parental emotions should be defined under the rubric of human emotions that include both basic and self-conscious emotions. The Scale for Parent-to-Baby Emotions (SPBE) was developed underlying this concept, whereas an applicable scale for parent-to-child emotions for a wider age range for both mothers and fathers is needed. This study is aimed at examining the measurement invariance of this adapted scale among Japanese families. In a cross-sectional internet survey, men and women who had a child/children (including a fetus), whose eldest was aged up to 12 years old (N = 4600), were recruited. The questionnaire, which included the Scale for Parent-to-Child-Emotions-62 (SPCE-62) created from the SPBE via a process of rigorous translation, focused only on the eldest child. The feasibility of the SPCE-62 was assessed by a panel of three researchers. Each domain of both basic and self-conscious emotions was examined both in terms of robust factor structure and stable measurement invariance by multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. Responses to individual items were examined via item response theory, including differential item functioning. This resulted in a 43-item SPCE consisting of 9 domains: Happiness (four items), Anger (six items), Fear (four items), Sadness (five items), Disgust (five items), Shame (five items), Guilt (seven items), Alpha Pride (three items), and Beta Pride (four items). An empirical construct of parental emotion toward a child was derived. The SPCE makes it possible to measure parent-to-child emotions across parents' gender and the three age ranges of the child.

Development of a Scale for COVID-19 Stigma and Its Psychometric Properties: A Study among Pregnant Japanese Women

Background: Stigma towards COVID-19 may negatively impact people who suffer from it and those supporting and treating them. Objective: To develop and validate a scale to assess 11-item COVID-19−related stigma. Methods: A total of 696 pregnant women at a gestational age of 12 to 15 weeks were surveyed using an online survey with a newly developed scale for COVID-19 stigma and other variables. The internal consistency of the scale was calculated using omega indices. We also examined the measurement invariance of the scale. Results: Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) of the scale items were conducted using a halved sample (n = 350). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) among the other halved sample (n = 346) compared the single-, two-, three-, and four-factor structure models derived from the EFAs. The best model included the following three-factor structure (χ2/df = 2.718, CFI = 0.960, RMSEA = 0.071): Omnidirectional Avoidance, Attributional Avoidance, and Hostility. Its internal consistency was excellent (all omega indices > 0.70). The three-factor structure model showed configuration, measurement, and structural invariances between primiparas and multiparas, and between younger (less than 32 years) and older women (32 years or older). Fear of childbirth, mother−fetal bonding, obsessive compulsive symptoms, depression, adult attachment self-model, and borderline personality traits were not significantly correlated with the Omnidirectional Avoidance subscale but correlated with the Attributional Avoidance and Hostility subscales (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggested that our scale for COVID-19 stigma was robust in its factor structure, as well as in construct validity.