Psychometric properties of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version A among Chinese expectant fathers

Background: Evidence on the mental status of expectant fathers indicates that their fears of childbirth (FOC) are of great concern. In consideration of expectant fathers' increasing involvement during pregnancy and childbirth, it is necessary to provide a reliable instrument to measure the psychometric properties of expectant fathers. The purpose of this study was to revise the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version A (W-DEQ A) for expectant fathers, analyze the psychometric properties and explore its applicability to the Chinese population.

Methods: The W-DEQ A was revised to apply to Chinese men following the completion of a cross-sectional study. Content validity was assessed by an expert panel of specialists in obstetrics. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was assessed by the internal consistency coefficient and retest reliability.

Results: A total of 741 expectant fathers participated in this study. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) was greater than 0.8, while the scale-level CVI (S-CVI) was 0.92, indicating satisfactory content validity. Exploratory factor analysis revealed eight factors, accounting for 60.97% of the cumulative variance. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed acceptable structural validity of the father's version of the W-DEQ A (W-DEQ AF), demonstrating a good model fit. The Cronbach's alpha for the W-DEQ AF was 0.843, indicating good reliability of the scale.

Conclusions: The Chinese version of the W-DEQ-AF is reliable and could be considered for use with expectant fathers in China to assess their psychological status and fear of childbirth during pregnancy of their spouse.