The methodology of the ‘Mother’s Attitude Test at the Stage of the Mother–Child Dyad’: Internal structure and validation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9527-2026-8-3-432-445Keywords:
attitude towards the newborn, mother-child dyad, maternal attitude, modified method, Cronbach’s alpha, reliability, validityAbstract
Introduction. Despite the continuing demand for research into the multifaceted phenomenon of motherhood, there remains a shortage of valid instruments for diagnostic assessment of women’s attitudes toward their newborns in the early postpartum period, including following the birth of a child with a medical condition. The aim of the present study was to validate a modified version of I. V. Dobryakov’s ‘Pregnant Woman’s Attitude Test’ — the ‘Mother’s Attitude Test at the Stage of the Mother–Child Dyad’ (MAT, 0–3).
Materials and Methods. The study involved 235 women in the early postpartum period, of varying ages and with diverse reproductive and obstetric histories. Reliability of the instrument was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Construct validity was evaluated through cluster analysis using the farthest neighbor method, and Student’s t-test was employed for between-group comparisons. Correlation analysis was conducted using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Content validity was assessed by I. V. Dobryakov, the author of the original ‘Pregnant Woman’s Attitude Test’.
Results. Cronbach’s alpha values for the scales characteristic of the euphoric (a = 0.62), optimal (a = 0.74), anxious (a = 0.70), hypoinfantagonistic (a = 0.81), and depressive (a = 0.75) types of maternal attitude indicate sufficient internal consistency of the questionnaire. Diagnostic sensitivity of the scale indicators was confirmed (mpp = 1.72, mn = 1.09, t = 2.75, p = 0.007); (mpp = 1.50, mn = 0.98, t = 2.69, p = 0.008). Cluster analysis identified five main clusters characterized by balanced scale profiles and two clusters comprising scales characteristic of different attitude types.
Conclusion. The instrument is designed to assess the characteristics of maternal attitudes in women during the early postpartum period or those raising infants and young children (up to 3 years of age) and may be employed as a diagnostic tool.
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