Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Birth Beliefs Scale (BBS), which was developed to assess the basic beliefs of women about birth, in our culture.

Methods: The study conducted between March 2017-June 2018 with pregnant women who applied to the obstetrics and gynaecology outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital affiliated to the Ministry of Health. The sample research group comprised of all pregnant who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Data was collected using socio-demographic questionnaire and BBS.

Results: Expert scores and Content Validity Index for the translated items were calculated according to Davis technique and all items were found to be over 0.80. For construct validity, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied and determined the scale under two factors. According to the reliability analysis of the scale, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the first sub-scale was 0.890; Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the second sub-scale was found to be 0.868. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients in which time invariance was evaluated for the first subscale was 0.993 and for the second subscale was 0.984. The relationship between the two factors was statistically significant at a negative level of 0.752.

Conclusion: Adapted BBS is a highly valid and reliable tool that can be used in the field. In our country, especially caesarean behavior is recommended to be used to determine the underlying beliefs.