A single Spanish version of maternal and paternal postnatal attachment scales: validation and conceptual analysis

Abstract

BackgroundPostnatal bonding constitutes a major process during the postpartum period, and there is evidence that bonding difficulties have negative consequences for parents’ mental health and the child’s development. However, the conceptualization of postnatal bonding presents inconsistencies, as well as problems in having instruments that encompasses the father figure. The objective was to adapt the maternal postnatal attachment scale (MPAS) and the paternal postnatal attachment scale (PPAS) to Spanish, to evaluate its validity and reliability and to analyze the construct dimensionality of both questionnaires from a gender perspective.MethodsInstrumental design. In 2016–2017, a sample of 571 mothers and 376 fathers, with children between 6 and 11 months of age, responded to the Spanish version of MPAS and PPAS, respectively. After a process of translation-back-translation of the instrument, we empirically analyzed the internal consistency (Cronbach alpha, composite reliability (CR)) construct and concurrent validity (with regard to postpartum depression and dyadic adjustment). Additionally, we studied the instrument’s content validity, using the Delphi methodology; and the differential analysis in both samples (mothers and fathers), examining the invariance.ResultsA short version of 15 items was obtained, common for mothers and fathers. The results of the Delphi methodology showed a 100% inter-judge agreement, highlighting the absence of differences in the adequacy of the items as a function of the parents’ gender. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of three original factors proposed by the authors. The global Cronbach alpha coefficients in the total sample were adequate (mothers, 0.70; fathers, 0.78); and Cronbach alpha of each dimension in the case of mothers was 0.50 (Quality of bonding), 0.55 (Absence of hostility), and 0.60 (Pleasure in interaction); in the case of fathers, it was respectively 0.54, 0.64, and 0.72. CR of each dimension were: quality of bonding, 0.74 in mothers and 0.80 in fathers; absence of hostility, 0.93 in mothers and 0.94 in fathers; pleasure in interaction, 0.83 in mothers and 0.90 in fathers. With regard to the analysis of group invariance, the results revealed empirical evidence of configural and metric invariance. Concurrent validity showed moderate negative correlations for postnatal depression (mothers, r = −0.41, p < 0.001; fathers, r = −0.38, p < 0.001), and positive correlations for dyadic adjustment (mothers, r = 0.39, p < 0.001; fathers, r = 0.44, p < 0.001).DiscussionA new version of the instrument was generated, with good psychometric properties, adequate for use both with mothers and with fathers. This scale helps evaluate postnatal maternal and paternal bonding, allowing to study it from within the family system, a necessary step forward to advance perinatal mental health.

The Current Concept of Paternal Bonding: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…Several papers used bonding and attachment interchangeably. Moreover, linguistic confusion existed with no consensus [ 30 ]. Some authors provided different definitions of bonding and attachment and claimed that bonding is a parental affective tie toward the child [ 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Taylor et al [ 33 ] commented that bonding was used to describe how a mother felt toward her baby, while attachment included the baby’s behavior toward the mother. Pretorius et al [ 34 ] noted that the two terms imply different parental feelings toward the fetus and infant, thus noting that “bonding should be used to refer to the parent’s feelings toward the fetus before birth and that attachment be reserved for the postnatal period.” The most common definition of bonding was a description regarding affective or emotional ties [ 24 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. The parental belief about the importance of a parental bond with one’s child is what some authors emphasized in the definition of bonding [ 26 ].…”

“…Bonding disorder is limited to its deficiency (lack of love). In comparison, using the term emotion/affect provides wider definitions of bonding and may include emotions such as anger, fear, and disgust [ 24 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Attachment and relationship-based interventions for families during neonatal intensive care hospitalization: a study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The meaning of bonding is more focused on the mother's views toward the relationship with the child, which can be constituted by behavioral domains (e.g., parent-infant proximity, and physiological domains (e.g., oxytocin levels) [7]. Even though they should be defined separately in research, attachment and bonding have been used interchangeably in diverse contexts [8]. Therefore, this review will examine studies on attachment-, bonding-, and relationshipbased interventions.…”

Evaluación de la psicopatología en mujeres durante la etapa reproductiva y perinatal

“…La validación española (Riera-Martín et al, 2018) obtuvo una versión breve de 15 ítems, aplicable indistintamente para padres y madres.…”