Development and Validation of the Lactation Psychological Needs Scale.

Recruitment used social media and La Leche League USA, so parents who already feel positively about breastfeeding may be overrepresented. The sample was mostly female, White, highly educated, and insured through non-Medicaid plans, limiting generalisability. The study measured parents at a single time, so it cannot show whether need satisfaction led to feeding choices or the reverse; the authors call for prospective studies. Exclusive breastfeeding was assessed by asking whether formula had ever been given, not by the full World Health Organization definition, because some infants were older than six months. Validation remains preliminary: the authors call for independent confirmatory analysis, test-retest stability, and predictive validity. The final scale was shortened during model refinement, which may reduce conceptual richness. The confirmatory model required item removals and statistical adjustments because normality assumptions were violated. Only a small number of participants identified as non-female, so their experiences could not be analysed inferentially.

The study was supported by the Sigma Theta Tau Beta Beta Houston Chapter and the Jesse H. & Mary Gibbs Jones Research Grant. The authors declared that Kelsie Barta was a doctoral student in the Nursing PhD program at Texas Woman's University, with Misty Richmond as dissertation chair and Becky Spencer and Sandy Cesario as committee members.

Do not conclude that meeting psychological needs will cause exclusive breastfeeding or better mood. The study did not follow parents over time and validated a scale; it found associations, and the authors say prospective testing is needed.