Psychometric properties of the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS)

Abstract

Purpose Pregnant women are facing numerous COVID-19 related burdens including social isolation, financial insecurity, uncertainty about the impact of the virus on fetal development, and prenatal care restrictions. We tested the psychometric properties of a new instrument designed to assess the extent and types of pandemic-related stress experienced by pregnant women. Materials and methods 4,451 pregnant women from across the U.S. were recruited via social media and completed an online questionnaire in April-May 2020. The questionnaire included measures of psychological, sociodemographic, and obstetric factors and the new Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS). Results Confirmatory factor analyses of the PREPS showed excellent model fit. Three factors – Perinatal Infection Stress (5 items), Preparedness Stress (7 items), and Positive Appraisal (3 items) – converged and diverged with expected psychological factors, and scales created from these factors demonstrated acceptable to good reliability (α’s 0.68–0.86). In addition, mean PREPS scores were associated with perceived risk of infection, and with financial and vocational COVID-19 related burdens. Conclusion The PREPS is a robust instrument to assess multidimensional COVID-19 pandemic prenatal stress. It is a valuable tool for future research to examine vulnerability to pandemic stress and how this stress may affect women and their offspring.

Keywords

• covid-19
• prenatal maternal stress
• pandemic-related pregnancy stress
• psychometrics