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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The purposes of this study were: (1) to adapt two validated questionnaires used to evaluate maternal confidence (KPCS-IT) and maternal stress (PSS-IT) to the Italian context, in order to (2) measure the stress level and the self-efficacy in an Italian sample of mothers. The validation process has provided the construction of an online questionnaire. It was administered on a convenience mothers sample with at least a child aged 0–12 months, twice (T0 and T1) with a two day interval. Assessment of instrument stability over time was estimated by applying test–retest reliability between T0 and T1, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the second aim. Italian mothers with at least one child living at home aged between 0–12 months were recruited. Statistical reliability methods were applied to assess the internal validity of the two questionnaires. PSS-IT was analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses in order to study the association between KPCS-IT, demographic and maternal characteristics. Statistical significance was established as p < 0.05. The Cronbach’s alpha reported a good level of internal consistency of the questionnaires: PSS-IT alpha = 0.862; KPCS-IT alpha = 0.801. 32% of the mothers declared low maternal confidence and the mean value of PSS-IT was 35.4 (SD = 8). The significant inverse correlation was found between the PSS-IT and the KPCS-IT (coeff = −0.353; p < 0.001): this means that a high level of perceived self-efficacy reduces the maternal stress level. The study identifies that interventions on maternal confidence can be useful to support mothers in the first months after delivery in order to prevent stress risk: the perceived self-efficacy is as a modifiable factor and the results of the study indicate that it significantly reduces the PSS-IT and EPDS scores. In future, more field trials are necessary in order to assess the realistic and feasible interventions on maternal confidence and competence to prevent maternal distress.

Details

Title
HAPPY MAMA Project (PART 1). Assessing the Reliability of the Italian Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale (KPCS-IT) and Parental Stress Scale (PSS-IT): A Cross-Sectional Study among Mothers Who Gave Birth in the Last 12 Months
Author
Mannocci, Alice 1 ; Massimi, Azzurra 2 ; Scaglietta, Franca 2 ; Ciavardini, Sara 2 ; Scollo, Michela 2 ; Scaglione, Claudia 2 ; Giuseppe La Torre 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Faculty of Economics, Universitas Mercatorum, 00186 Rome, Italy 
 Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (F.S.); [email protected] (S.C.); [email protected] (M.S.); [email protected] (C.S.); [email protected] (G.L.T.) 
First page
4066
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2566046482
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.