Psychometric evaluation of the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue scale for use with pregnant and postpartum women.
Although fatigue is a common experience for pregnant women and new mothers, few measures of fatigue have been validated for use with this population. To address this gap, the authors assessed psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue (MAF) scale, which was used in 2 independent samples of pregnant women. Results indicated that the psychometric properties of the scale were very similar across samples and time points. The scale possesses a high level of internal consistency, has good convergent validity with measures of sleep quality and depression, and discriminates well from a measure of social support. Contrary to previous evaluations of the MAF, data strongly suggest that the scale represents a unidimensional construct best represented by a single factor. Results indicate that the MAF is a useful measure of fatigue among pregnant and postpartum women.
Women's Health Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Canada. nichole@interchange.ubc.ca
Nichole
N
Fairbrother
Eileen K
EK
Hutton
Kathrin
K
Stoll
Wendy
W
Hall
Sandy
S
Kluka
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data