title: Investigating validity and reliability evidence for the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale in a sample of Italian women.
abstract: This study focused on the development of the emotional tie of the expectant mother towards her unborn child and aimed to achieve structural and external validity evidence for an Italian version of the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS; Br J Med Psychol 66: 167-183, 1993). The MAAS was translated into Italian and was administered to a sample of 482 Italian expectant women (age 20-43 years), together with other questionnaires measuring maternal-fetal attachment, psychological well-being, and relational variables. The hypothesised relationships with external concurrent and predictive criteria were substantiated. Internal consistencies were adequate for the total scale and for one of the two subscales. Confirmatory factor analyses provided general support for an oblique two-factor model, with minor model misfit. Therefore, an exploratory factor analysis with oblimin rotation was performed. The findings suggested that some items may represent extraneous constructs. Implications for future research regarding the functioning of the instrument are addressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology "Sapienza", University of Rome, via degli Apuli 1, Rome, Italy. alessandrabusonera@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Busonera
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, via Is Mirrionis 1, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cataudella
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, via Is Mirrionis 1, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lampis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Humanities and Territory "G. D'Annunzio", University of Chieti, via dei Vestini 31, Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tommasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology "Sapienza", University of Rome, via degli Apuli 1, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio Cesare
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Zavattini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014175:Translating
keywords: Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS); Maternal–fetal attachment; Pregnancy; Reliability; Validity