title: The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire: a factor analytic study.
abstract: Fear of childbirth (FOC) is an important women's health issue. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) is currently the most frequently used instrument to measure FOC. The scale is designed to measure different aspects of FOC but is conceptualized as a uni-dimensional instrument. Our aim was to investigate the underlying factor structure of the W-DEQ version A. A total of 1642 women scheduled to give birth at Akershus University Hospital (Norway) during 2009 and 2010 completed the W-DEQ in the third trimester. Validity and reliability were estimated by means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and correlations with other relevant variables. Results confirmed a multidimensional structure of the W-DEQ. Six factors were identified, each measuring different domains: 'Fear', 'Negative appraisal', 'Loneliness', 'Lack of self-efficacy', 'Lack of positive anticipation', and 'Concerns for the child'. The final model resulted in a 25-item version of the instrument with adequate psychometric properties. Subfactors correlated differently with several relevant variables. Especially the factor 'Fear' was highly correlated with both the overall W-DEQ and several important outcomes. Future studies could examine whether this factor may serve as a good proxy for the full W-DEQ version A.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital , Lørenskog, Norway. susanniegel@gmail.com
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garthus-Niegel
authors.forename: Hege Therese
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Størksen
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Torgersen
authors.forename: Tilmann
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Von Soest
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eberhard-Gran
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003469:Culture; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires