Psychometric Properties Of Hope Scale In Mothers With Premature Infants Admitted To The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Concept of hope in mothers of premature infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit is of great importance and plays an enormous role in their quality of health. Therefore it is necessary to prepare a valid and reliable measure for this concept. The purpose of this study is to examine psychometrics properties (validity and reliability) of hope scale in mothers of premature infants admitted to intensive care units in Kurdistan and Kermanshah provinces. In this study, 126 mothers of premature infants were selected using convenience sampling. The study conducted using questionnaire on hope scale for mothers of premature infants, demographic characteristics, and depression Inventory of Beck et al., 1987 (the criterion measure). During the study construct and criterion validity of the tool was determined. The Reliability was determined using internal consistency and test-retest coefficient. Data were analyzed through factor analysis, correlation coefficient and Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity of the scale was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). There were four sub-scales including "self esteem", "feelings of motherhood," "sense of peace" and "feeling of having positive energy". Correlation coefficient of scores for " scale for hope of mothers' of premature infants" were obtained by means of Beck depression inventory (r=0.134) which revealed no association between maternal depression and hope. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was alpha = 0.9320. Correlation of scores which were conducted twice were measured as r=0.540. validity and reliability of " scale for hope of mothers' of premature infants" was appropriate and it could be used to measure hope in mothers of preterm infants.