Psychometrics of pregnancy psychological needs questionnaire during pregnancy

Satisfying psychological needs during pregnancy is defined as a feeling of satisfaction, increased independence, improved interaction between others and the environment, and spontaneous increase of mental energy to achieve successful pregnancy and delivery. The present study was conducted with aim to create and validate the pregnancy psychological needs questionnaire.

In terms of applied purpose, the current research is qualitative and quantitative combined data (mixed) and in terms of study method is foundational data. The statistical population included women referred to specialized women's clinics and midwifery centers in Kermanshah city in 2022-2023, and 40 people were selected through purposeful sampling with the inclusion criteria up to theoretical saturation and were subjected to in-depth interviews. After the analysis of the interviews, a tool suitable for the Iranian context was prepared to measure the psychological needs of pregnancy. In order to analyze the data in the qualitative part of content analysis and in the quantitative part of exploratory factor analysis, first and second order factor analysis were used and Cronbach's alpha was used to measure its reliability.

Based on the results of exploratory factor analysis, six factors were extracted and the fit of the six-dimensional model of psychological needs of pregnancy was confirmed based on the results of confirmatory factor analysis. Considering the theoretical foundations and the content of the questions, these factors were named (supportiveness, affection, motivation and hope, emotional understanding, empathy and sexual need). Also, the reliability of the questionnaire was reported as 0.89.

The results of the present study showed that the pregnancy psychological needs questionnaire has the necessary validity and reliability, and it is possible to measure the psychological needs of pregnant women through this tool.