Abstract

COSTA, Ana Catarina; RODRIGUES, Sofia; CANAVARRO, Maria Cristina  and  FONSECA, Ana. Adaptation of the Attitudes toward Motherhood Scale for the Portuguese population: Psychometric studies. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2018, vol.36, n.2, pp.247-260. ISSN 0870-8231.  https://doi.org/10.14417/ap.1387.

Dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood have been identified as a risk factor for postpartum depression. The aim of this study was to adapt the Attitudes Toward Motherhood Scale (AToM), that evaluates dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood, for the Portuguese population and to evaluate its psychometric qualities. The sample included 387 women in the postpartum period. The participants cross-sectionally answered to the AToM and to other self-report questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed as more suitable a three-dimensional model, similar to the original structure of the instrument: Beliefs about Other’s Judgments, Beliefs about Maternal Responsibility and Beliefs about Maternal Role Idealization. In addition, the AToM was significantly associated with depressive symptoms and with general and postpartum negative automatic thoughts, showing its convergent validity. Furthermore, it has shown good internal consistency for the total score and for its dimensions, with the exception of the dimension Beliefs about Maternal Responsibility. In general, the Portuguese version of AToM showed good levels of reliability and validity, so it is a useful tool to assess the dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood.

Keywords : Attitudes toward Motherhood Scale; Dysfunctional beliefs toward motherhood; Postpartum depression; Psychometric properties.

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