TY - JOUR
T1 - The pregnancy anxiety questionnaire revised-2 a contribution to its validation
AU - Dellagiulia, Antonio
AU - Lionetti, Francesca
AU - Pastore, Massimiliano
AU - Linnea, Karlsson
AU - Hasse, Karlsson
AU - Huizink, Anja C.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Pregnancy-related anxiety is an important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and postnatal parental well-being, to a greater extent than general anxiety, calling for a reliable and validated measure for its assessment. The current paper aimed to validate the Pregnancy Anxiety Questionnaire - Revised-2 (PRAQ-R2; Huizink et al., 2016) in a sample of Italian women, by testing its psychometric properties, and checking for Italian-Finnish measurement invariance. Additionally, the association with general anxiety and depression was examined. Participants included 348 Italian pregnant women and 348 Finnish pregnant women. Results showed that the Italian version of PRAQ-R2 presents satisfying psychometric proprieties. Data supported a three-factor solution including fear of giving birth, worries about bearing a handicapped child, and concern about own appearance. Invariance across countries was confirmed. The primiparous condition was associated with a higher level of pregnancy anxiety only for fear of giving birth. A moderate correlation was found between pregnancy anxiety and general anxiety and depression, providing evidence for concurrent validity, as well as for the existence of a specific pregnancy anxiety dimension.
AB - Pregnancy-related anxiety is an important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and postnatal parental well-being, to a greater extent than general anxiety, calling for a reliable and validated measure for its assessment. The current paper aimed to validate the Pregnancy Anxiety Questionnaire - Revised-2 (PRAQ-R2; Huizink et al., 2016) in a sample of Italian women, by testing its psychometric properties, and checking for Italian-Finnish measurement invariance. Additionally, the association with general anxiety and depression was examined. Participants included 348 Italian pregnant women and 348 Finnish pregnant women. Results showed that the Italian version of PRAQ-R2 presents satisfying psychometric proprieties. Data supported a three-factor solution including fear of giving birth, worries about bearing a handicapped child, and concern about own appearance. Invariance across countries was confirmed. The primiparous condition was associated with a higher level of pregnancy anxiety only for fear of giving birth. A moderate correlation was found between pregnancy anxiety and general anxiety and depression, providing evidence for concurrent validity, as well as for the existence of a specific pregnancy anxiety dimension.
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Pregnancy anxiety
KW - Pregnancy Anxiety Questionnaire - Revised-2 (PRAQ-R2)
KW - Pregnancy depression
KW - Prenatal anxiety measure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075650535&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85075650535&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1027/1015-5759/a000559
DO - 10.1027/1015-5759/a000559
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075650535
VL - 36
SP - 787
EP - 795
JO - European Journal of Psychological Assessment
JF - European Journal of Psychological Assessment
SN - 1015-5759
IS - 5
ER -