Development of the "Awareness of Parental Responsibility"scale for becoming first- time fathers, with their wives...

This study aimed to develop and validate the "Awareness of Parental Responsibility (APR)" scale for first-time fathers with a wife who is pregnant with their first child. This study was conducted in three stages. Data were obtained from 92 fathers in the pilot study and 396 fathers in the main survey. We analyzed construct validity, reliability, and criterion-related validity using the collected data. The APR was ultimately confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to comprised 4 factors and 27 items:"Positive responses to children," "Imagining life with a child," "Sense of gender role division," and "Imagining the practice of childcare." Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the total scale was .87. The CFA results indicated a consistent fit between the model and data, with values of χ²/df ratio=2.42, Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI)=0.870, Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI)=0.845, Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=0.895, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=0.060. The composite reliability (CR) value for the entire scale was 0.774, with values ranging from factors 1 to 4 of 0.697, 0.810, 0.794, and 0.941, respectively. This was considered to be sufficiently reliable. Thus, APR is a valid and reliable tool for assessing readiness to become a father from the perspective of "A Parental," it can also be used to verify the effectiveness of preparatory education for becoming a parent. J. Med. Invest. 73 : 166-175, February, 2026.