Perceived maternal parenting self-efficacy scale: Factor structure and psychometric properties among Portuguese postpartum women.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy (PMPS-E) Scale among Portuguese postpartum women.

Design: Quantitative cross-sectional study.

Setting: Data were collected through an online survey placed on social media websites targeting Portuguese adult women in the postpartum period (0-12 months after delivery).

Participants: The total sample consisted of 893 participants who gave birth after 37 weeks of gestation.

Results: After conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, our results revealed that a correlated three-factor model yielded a significantly better fit to the data than the original four-factor model. High reliability was found for the total scale (α= 0.95) and for the three factors (α from 0.88 to 0.94). The PMPS-E presented significant and moderate to large correlations with other measures related to maternal self-efficacy. Participants who were multiparous, had older infants (>5 months old) and perceived their infant temperament as easy reported higher maternal parenting self-efficacy than those who were primiparous, had younger infants (≤5 months old) and perceived their infant temperament as difficult.

Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the European Portuguese version of the PMPS-E is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing maternal parenting self-efficacy among postpartum women.

Implications For Practice: The PMPS-E may be a valuable instrument to detect parenting self-efficacy difficulties among postpartum women and thus contribute to strategies to improve women's overall psychological adjustment to the postpartum period, with a possible impact on the mother-infant relationship.