Validation of the Greek maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes scale for assessing early postpartum adjustment

The Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale is a self- administered scale, designed for use in primary care settings to identify postpartum maternal adjustment problems regarding body image, sex, somatic symptoms, and marital relationships. Women were recruited within four weeks of giving birth. Responses to the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale were compared for agreement with responses to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a gold standard. Psychometric measurements included: reliability coefficients, explanatory factor analysis, and confirmatory analysis by linear structural relations. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to evaluate the global functioning of the scale. Of 300 mothers screened, 121 (40.7%) were experiencing difficulties in maternal adjustment and maternal attitudes. Scores on the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale correlated well with those on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The internal consistency of the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale, Greek version-tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient-was 0.859, and that of Guttman split-half coefficient was 0.820. Findings confirmed the multidimensionality of the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale, demonstrating a six-factor structure. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.610, and the logistic estimate for the threshold score of 57/58 fitted the model sensitivity at 68% and model specificity at 64.6%. Data confirmed that the Greek version of the Maternal Adjustment and Maternal Attitudes Scale is a reliable and valid screening tool for both clinical practice and research purposes to detect postpartum adjustment difficulties.