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Initial psychometric analysis of novel instruments to assess decisional distress and decisional uncertainty in women who have considered using preimplantation genetic testing
Author(s) -
Pastore Lisa M.,
Rubin Lisa R.,
SantaBarbara Jennifer N.,
Stelling James,
Lobel Marci
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.5730
Subject(s) - distress , clarity , discriminant validity , cronbach's alpha , psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , clinical psychology , psychometrics , developmental psychology , medicine , internal consistency , biochemistry , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , chemistry
Objective To analyze psychometric properties of two novel instruments assessing decisional distress and uncertainty experienced by individuals considering preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). Methods The new PGT Decisional Distress instrument (22 items) assesses negative/positive emotions. The new PGT Decisional Uncertainty instrument assesses Clarity about test benefits/disadvantages (5 items) and Certainty of having adequate information/support to make a good decision (7 items). Scales ranged from 0 to 4. Psychometrics (central tendencies, internal consistency reliability, and discriminant validity) were evaluated. Stratified analysis by decision stage was conducted. All participants had considered or used PGT in the previous 6 months. Results N = 106 females (mean age 36.5 ± 4.8 years; 16% non‐Caucasian; 9% Hispanic) across 16 US states completed an online anonymous questionnaire. On average, respondents reported minimal distress (mean 0.96), high clarity (mean 3.26), and high certainty (mean 3.06), particularly those who had already decided compared to undecided women ( P ≤ .02). Instruments had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α 's 0.92‐0.94) and displayed sufficient inter‐individual variability (SD's 0.75‐0.89). Correlations confirmed expected patterns of association between instruments ( P ' s < .01), indicating discriminant validity. Conclusion We document initial reliability and validity of new instruments to measure emotional distress and uncertainty in female patients who have recently considered PGT for single‐gene or chromosomal disorders.