Background Given the importance of screening pregnant women’s distress, it was intended to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale (TPDS-P) for screening pregnancy distress. Methods This methodological psychometric study was conducted with participation of 360 pregnant women. The TPDS was translated into Persian. Factor analysis was used to investigate the construct validity. The results of the correlation test between the results of the two questionnaires, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and TPDS-P, were used to determine the criterion validity of TPDS-P. Internal consistency of the items was calculated by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Stability of the results was examined by test-retest method and Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was calculated. Examining the structure of the factors derived from exploratory factor analysis, fitness of the model was done through confirmatory factor analysis. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. Results Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was 0.846 (p = 0.001). Sixteen items of TPDS-P accounted for 51.42 percent variances. The TPDS-P exhibited appropriate fitness. There was poor to moderate but significant direct correlation between the subscales of DASS-21 and TPDS-P. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the TPDS-P was 0.81 and ICC was 0.70. Conclusions TPDS-P, with appropriate validity and reliability, can be used as a practical scale to evaluate women's distress during pregnancy in Farsi-speaking societies.

Background Given the importance of screening pregnant women’s distress, it was intended to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale (TPDS-P) for screening pregnancy distress.Methods This methodological study was conducted with participation of 360 pregnant women. The TPDS was translated into Persian. Factor analysis was used to investigate the construct validity. The results of the correlation test between the two questionnaires DASS-21 and TPDS-P were used to determine the criterion validity. Internal consistency of the items was calculated by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Stability of the results was examined by test-retest method. To examine the structure of the factors derived from exploratory factor analysis, fitness of the model was done through confirmatory factor analysis. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software.Results KMO outcomes were 0.846 (p = 0.001). 16 items of TPDS-P accounted for 51.42 percent variances. The TPDS-P exhibited appropriate fitness. There was poor to moderate but significant direct correlation between the subscales of DASS-21 and TPDS-P. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the TPDS-P was 0.81.ICC was 0.81.Conclusion TPDS-P can be used as a scale with appropriate validity and reliability in Farsi-speaking societies to evaluate women's distress during pregnancy.