The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF): German Translation and Psychometric Assessment

German-speaking mothers have breastfeeding rates below the international breastfeeding recommendations. Previous research has found that breastfeeding self-efficacy is an important and modifiable predictor of breastfeeding outcomes, thus improving breastfeeding rates. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) is used in many countries to assess maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. This instrument has not been available in German.

To translate the BSES-SF into German and assess its psychometric properties among breastfeeding mothers up to 12 weeks postpartum.

This cross-sectional study was conducted online with 355 breastfeeding mothers recruited from breastfeeding groups through Facebook. The BSES-SF was translated into German using forward and back-translation. To test reliability, item-total characteristics, including Cronbach's alpha, were examined. We used principal component analysis, as well as known-groups comparisons for evaluating construct validity, and examined the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy and demographic variables.

The mean age of participants was 32.4 years (SD = 4.32). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was .88 and corrected item-total correlations ranged between .37 and .73. Principal components analysis yielded one component with factor loadings >.40 and an eigenvalue of 5.62, which explained 40% of the total variance. In addition, known group comparisons provided further evidence for construct validity. There was no significant difference in BSES-SF scores in terms of demographic and obstetrics characteristics.

Our results provide evidence that the German version of the BSES-SF is a reliable and valid tool for measuring breastfeeding self-efficacy among mothers in German-speaking countries.