The Birth Satisfaction Scale – Revised (BSS-R): should the subscale scores or the total score be used?

Martin, Colin R.; Hollins Martin, Caroline J.; Burduli, Ekaterina; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina; Donovan-Batson, Colleen; Fleming, Susan E.

doi:10.1080/02646838.2018.1490498

The Birth Satisfaction Scale – Revised (BSS-R): should the subscale scores or the total score be used?

Martin, Colin R.; Hollins Martin, Caroline J.; Burduli, Ekaterina; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina; Donovan-Batson, Colleen; Fleming, Susan E.

Authors

Colin R. Martin

Prof Caroline Hollins-Martin C.HollinsMartin@napier.ac.uk
Professor

Ekaterina Burduli

Celestina Barbosa-Leiker

Colleen Donovan-Batson

Susan E. Fleming

Abstract

Objective and background: The 10-item Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) is increasingly being used internationally as the instrument of choice for the assessment of birth satisfaction. There remains conjecture over the most appropriate way to score the instrument, the choices being, sub-scale score totals, the overall total score, or adopting both approaches. The current study sought to clarify this issue by examining the measurement characteristics of the United States version of the BSS-R from a large dataset.
Methods: A secondary analysis of a data matrix derived from a large sample United States BSS-R validation study (N=2116) using structural equation modelling and bi-factor model evaluation.
Results: The bi-factor model revealed an excellent fit to data (2(df=25) = 208.21, p

Citation

Martin, C. R., Hollins Martin, C. J., Burduli, E., Barbosa-Leiker, C., Donovan-Batson, C., & Fleming, S. E. (2018). The Birth Satisfaction Scale – Revised (BSS-R): should the subscale scores or the total score be used?. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 36(5), 530-535. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2018.1490498

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 9, 2018
Online Publication Date	Jul 30, 2018
Publication Date	Oct 20, 2018
Deposit Date	May 22, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Jul 31, 2019
Journal	Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
Print ISSN	0264-6838
Electronic ISSN	1469-672X
Publisher	Routledge
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	36
Issue	5
Pages	530-535
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2018.1490498
Keywords	Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R), scoring, validation, maternity care, outcomes, midwives, obstetricians,
Public URL	http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1820829
Contract Date	May 24, 2019