Development of Childcare Literacy Scale for Mothers with Infants and Children

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a Childcare Literacy Scale for Mothers with Infants and Children (CLMIC) and verify its reliability and validity. Using a 28-item childcare literacy measurement scale proposed after a preliminary survey, an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted. Participants were mothers who came to the city's infant health checkups ; 211 people were included in the analysis. Cronbach's α α was used to verify reliability. To verify the validity, exploratory factor analysis was performed as construct validity. Following factor analysis of 28 items on the childcare literacy measurement scale, 4 factors and 24 items were adopted. For all factors, Cronbach's α α were greater than or equal to .80. CLMIC and Communicative and Critical Health Literacy, Health Literacy Scale for Women of Reproductive Age, and Japanese Short-Form-8-Item Health Survey showed significant positive correlations. CLMIC and Japanese Parenting Stress Index Short Form indicated a significant negative correlation. The reliability and validity of the developed CLMIC were confirmed. It was shown to be a useful scale that can contribute to health behaviors that protect against child-rearing stress and promote child safety and security, valuing the unique perspective of child-rearing that is appropriate for Japanese mothers.