A systematic review of the psychometric properties of the translated versions of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire

Introduction

The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire has evolved as one of the most extensively used, translated, and validated scales for the assessment of fear of childbirth.

Objective

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the translated versions of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire.

Method

We employed a systematic search of online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct, looking for articles published between 1998 and 2021. We used PRISMA guidelines for conducting and reporting this review, and the quality of the psychometric properties of the retrieved studies was assessed using the COSMIN checklist.

Results

Of the 825 records initially identified, 18 studies were included. The examination of these studies showed that the scale exists in at least 17 different languages, and it's quite possible that the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire is not a unidimensional scale since the factor analysis of the included studies suggested the existence of subscales. Regarding the methodological quality of the structural validity and the construct validity, the majority of studies were considered to be very good or adequate. Internal consistency was reported in all studies. Test-retest reliability was reported in five studies.

Conclusion

The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire's psychometrics were generally of an acceptable level of methodological quality in most of the studies. More research is needed on the examination and validation of both versions of the scale.