title: Measuring women's fatigue during the postpartum period.
abstract: The Fatigue Symptom Checklist (FSC) (Yoshitake, 1978), developed in Japan, was selected to measure postpartum fatigue among American women. Minor wording changes and a change in the reference time frame were made. Reliability and validity of this modification of the FSC were tested in this reanalysis of data from a longitudinal study of 285 mothers. Internal consistency reliability for the total 30-item FSC was acceptable. Evidence for criterion-related and construct validity was found. Original FSC subscales were not confirmed in these analyses. Using factor analysis, a shortened 10-item postpartum scale and two postpartum subscales, physical and mental fatigue, were identified. LISRAEL confirmatory factor analysis supported the subscales. Results support appropriateness of the total 30-item FSC, the shortened 10-item postpartum scale, and postpartum subscales for measuring postpartum fatigue in American women.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057-1107, USA.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Milligan
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Parks
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitzman
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Lenz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology