Psychometric testing of the Korean version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire: a methodological study.
Seyeon Park, Sukhee Ahn, Hyunjin Cho
PMID 41531404WHAT IT FOUND
The Korean W-DEQ gives nurses a 26-item way to ask pregnant women about fear of childbirth, but it does not show that screening changes birth or mental health outcomes.
Key findings
01The final KW-DEQ model had 26 items and fit indices of RMSEA 0.09, CFI 0.78, and TLI 0.75.
02Overall internal consistency was high, with Cronbach's α 0.90, and factor alphas ranged from 0.77 to 0.91.
03The total KW-DEQ score and three of four factor scores correlated positively with depression (r = 0.14 to 0.24), while the total and all four factor scores correlated negatively with childbirth confidence (r = −0.20 to −0.45).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study tested a questionnaire, not screening, counselling, or any intervention, so it cannot show that using the KW-DEQ improves patient outcomes. The sample was 200 pregnant Korean women, all at least 28 weeks gestation, expecting vaginal delivery, and able to read Korean, so it may not apply to other populations. The authors reported that model fit was not ideal: CFI 0.78, TLI 0.75, and RMSEA 0.09. The authors stated that the sample size was smaller than recommended for psychometric validation. The data were a secondary analysis of an existing dataset, and 230 women were recruited but only 200 were analysed after incomplete responses were excluded.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the KW-DEQ validation as proof that screening pregnant women for childbirth fear improves birth or mental health outcomes. The study tested questionnaire reliability and validity, not an intervention.