Maternal Confidence after Birth in at-risk and not-at-risk mothers: Internal and External Validity of the Danish Version of the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale (KPCS)

BACKGROUND Parenting confidence is a key factor in predicting a range of outcomes for both parents and children, such as parental depression, parental stress, and child health development. This study examines maternal confidence in at-risk and not-at-risk mothers and the psychometric properties of the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale (KPCS). RESULTS The total sample consisted of 695 mothers (488 not-at-risk and 207 at-risk) from a community setting. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.72 to 0.79, and item-rest correlations ranged from 0.17 to 0.57. Total score improved significantly from 41.75 at two months to 42.41 at six months for the not-at-risk group and increased significantly from 39.51 at two months to 41.12 at six months for the at-risk group. The differences between the two risk groups were significant at both times. CONCLUSION The KPCS has acceptable internal consistency, but an overall ceiling effect, with many items characterized by low discrimination. Despite a significant difference in maternal confidence between at-risk and not-at-risk mothers at both two and six months, the total score did not predict risk status very well in this sample. A nine-item version may be equal to the original 15-item version.