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A measurement model of perinatal stressors: Identifying risk for postnatal emotional distress in mothers of high‐risk infants
Author(s) -
DeMier Richart L.,
Hynan Michael T.,
Hatfield Rebecca F.,
Varner Michael W.,
Harris Howard B.,
Manniello Robert L.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(200001)56:1<89::aid-jclp8>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - psychology , confirmatory factor analysis , distress , stressor , gestational age , clinical psychology , obstetrics , pregnancy , medicine , structural equation modeling , statistics , mathematics , biology , genetics
A measurement model of perinatal stressors was first evaluated for reliability and then used to identify risk factors for postnatal emotional distress in high‐risk mothers. In Study 1, six measures (gestational age of the baby, birthweight, length of the baby's hospitalization, a postnatal complications rating for the infant, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min) were obtained from chart reviews of preterm births at two different hospitals. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the six measures could be accounted for by three factors: (a) Infant Maturity, (b) Apgar Ratings, and (c) Complications. In Study 2, a modified measurement model indicated that Infant Maturity and Complications were significant predictors of postnatal emotional distress in an additional sample of mothers. This measurement model may also be useful in predicting (a) other measures of psychological distress in parents, and (b) measures of cognitive and motor development in infants. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 56: 89–100, 2000.