Designing and Assessing the Validity and Reliability of a Tool for Assessing Stress Management in Primigravida Pregnant Women in Iran Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Although pregnancy brings great happiness to most women, it can cause stress and anxiety in many of them. This phenomenon is more severe in primigravida pregnant women, because they face these changes for the first time. This study aims to design and determine the validity and reliability of a stress management scale based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for primigravida pregnant women in Iran.

This descriptive study was conducted on 20 primigravida pregnant mothers in Qom City in 2022. The initial draft of the questionnaire was prepared and completed by the participants. The validity was assessed based on the opinions of 8 experts, and reliability was assessed using the test re-test method (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) and Cronbach’s α.

The final draft had 41 items. The obtained content validity ratio was 0.91 for attitude, 0.95 for perceived behavioral control, 0.91 for subjective norms, 0.81 for behavioral intention, and 0.93 for normative belief. The obtained and content validity index was 0.96 for attitude, 0.95 for perceived behavioral control, 0.99 for subjective norms, 0.97 for behavioral intention, and 0.95 for normative belief. Cronbach’s α calculated for the overall scale was 0.87, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.75.

The TPB-based instrument has acceptable validity and reliability for measuring stress management of primigravida pregnant women in Iran.