Psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale and correlation with depressive symptomatology

OBJECTIVE To conduct psychometric evaluation of the Greek version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) and assess correlation between the scores on BSES-SF and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). METHOD.he study was conducted at the largest maternity hospital in Athens, Greece, where 173 eligible pregnant women completed the BSES-SF and the EPDS during their visit to the antenatal outpatient department and 3 days after delivery. The infant feeding method was determined 6 months postpartum. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out to evaluate the construct validity of the BSES-EF scale and the internal consistency was analyzed with Cronbach's a. The predictive validity was assessed by comparison of the BSES-SF total score, using Student's t-test, between the women who reported exclusive breastfeeding 6 months postpartum and those that did not. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses was performed to identify variables independently associated with the BSES-SF total score. P values reported were two-tailed, with statistical significance set at 0.05. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22.0. RESULTS The mean BSES-SF score before birth was 44.2 +/- 11.1 and 3 days after birth it had increased significantly to 47.7 +/- 12.1 (p<0.001). Internal consistency reliability for the BSES-SF was acceptable, with Cronbach's a 0.93. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a one-factor structure, with the extracted factors explaining 52.7% of the total variance. The predictive validity of BSES-SF was significant for breastfeeding at 6 months. The BSES-SF score was significantly negatively correlated with the EPDS score before birth (r=0.23, p=0.002) and 3 days after the birth (r=-0.22, p=0.008). Higher BSES-SF scores were recorded by women with higher educational level and those who had received breastfeeding support from the obstetrician. CONCLUSIONS The Greek version of the BSES-SF demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity for measuring the breastfeeding self-efficacy of women. The international applicability of the BSES-SF is further evidenced by the results of this study.