TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychometric Assessment of the Paternal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form
T2 - A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Malawian Fathers
AU - Chipojola, Roselyn
AU - Dennis, Cindy Lee
AU - Kuo, Shu Yu
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 107-2314-B-038-034, MOST 106-2314-B-038-012, and MOST 104-2314-B-038-008). The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the funders. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background: Only 61% of Malawian women exclusively breastfeed to the recommended 6 months. Paternal support is predictive of exclusive breastfeeding, and significantly related to paternal breastfeeding self-efficacy, defined as fathers’ confidence in their ability to assist mothers with breastfeeding. Research Aims: To (1) examine the psychometric properties of the Paternal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) in Malawian fathers, including internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and convergent validity; and (2) assess the relationship between the BSES-SF and paternal demographic and health factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a maternity hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, and 180 fathers whose partners had delivered a singleton infant were included. Participants completed the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale and Quality of Life with confirmatory factor analysis performed to assess the construct validity. The internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and intra-class correlations. Convergent validity was also assessed. Results: A unidimensional factorial structure of the Malawian Paternal BSES-SF was identified using confirmatory factor analysis. The scale had an excellent Cronbach’s alpha of.90 and a test-retest reliability of.93. Participants’ breastfeeding self-efficacy was significantly correlated with the Quality of Life domains of psychological health (r =.23; p <.01), social relationships (r =.28; p <.001), and environmental health (r =.30; p <.001). Participants who were older, married, and with ≥ two children had significantly higher breastfeeding self-efficacy and were more confident in their ability to support their partner’s breastfeeding. Conclusion: The Paternal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form was a valid and reliable measure to assess fathers’ confidence in their ability to assist mothers with breastfeeding in Malawi.
AB - Background: Only 61% of Malawian women exclusively breastfeed to the recommended 6 months. Paternal support is predictive of exclusive breastfeeding, and significantly related to paternal breastfeeding self-efficacy, defined as fathers’ confidence in their ability to assist mothers with breastfeeding. Research Aims: To (1) examine the psychometric properties of the Paternal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) in Malawian fathers, including internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and convergent validity; and (2) assess the relationship between the BSES-SF and paternal demographic and health factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a maternity hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, and 180 fathers whose partners had delivered a singleton infant were included. Participants completed the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale and Quality of Life with confirmatory factor analysis performed to assess the construct validity. The internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and intra-class correlations. Convergent validity was also assessed. Results: A unidimensional factorial structure of the Malawian Paternal BSES-SF was identified using confirmatory factor analysis. The scale had an excellent Cronbach’s alpha of.90 and a test-retest reliability of.93. Participants’ breastfeeding self-efficacy was significantly correlated with the Quality of Life domains of psychological health (r =.23; p <.01), social relationships (r =.28; p <.001), and environmental health (r =.30; p <.001). Participants who were older, married, and with ≥ two children had significantly higher breastfeeding self-efficacy and were more confident in their ability to support their partner’s breastfeeding. Conclusion: The Paternal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form was a valid and reliable measure to assess fathers’ confidence in their ability to assist mothers with breastfeeding in Malawi.
KW - breastfeeding
KW - fathers
KW - Malawi
KW - Paternal Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form
KW - reliability
KW - self-efficacy
KW - validity
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U2 - 10.1177/08903344211065036
DO - 10.1177/08903344211065036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85122103035
SN - 0890-3344
JO - Journal of Human Lactation
JF - Journal of Human Lactation
ER -