Pregnancy-Specific Anxiety Tool (PSAT): Instrument Development and Psychometric Evaluation

Pregnancy-specific anxiety (PSA) is a distinct construct from general anxiety and depression. The purpose of this study was to develop, evaluate, and validate the Pregnancy-Specific Anxiety Tool (PSAT), to measure PSA and its severity.

The study was carried out in 2 stages. Stage 1 involved item development and content and face validation. Stage 2 included psychometric evaluation to examine item distributions and correlational structure, dimensionality, internal consistency reliability, stability, and construct, convergent, and criterion validity, using 2 independent samples (initial sample N = 494, May-October 2018; validation sample N = 325, July 2019-May 2020).

Eighty-two items were evaluated for face validity and 41 items were considered in stage 2 based on feedback from participants and experts. Model fit from exploratory factor analysis and patterns of item-factor loadings suggested a 6-factor model with 33 items. The 6 factors included items pertaining to health and well-being of the baby, labor and the pregnant person's well-being, postpartum, support, career and finance, and indicators of severity. Confirmatory factor analysis carried out using the initial sample showed good fit with the validation sample. The area under the curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of adjustment disorders (AD) was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.67-0.79), and for AD/any anxiety disorders, the AUC was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.75-0.85).

The PSAT can be useful for screening and monitoring of PSA, and pregnant people with scores higher than 10 should be considered for further assessment.