Attitudes toward Pregnant Women who Consume Alcohol Scale: Development and initial psychometrics

The set of birth defects and development disabilities collectively labeled as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is caused by alcohol consumption of pregnant women and, therefore, is entirely preventable. Thus, screening and intervention for alcohol consumption among pregnant women is an essential component of preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. However, like pregnant women with HIV, pregnant women who consume alcohol are vulnerable to stigmatization and judgment. Among healthcare workers, attitudes toward pregnant women who consume alcohol can impact clinical care delivery.

This study is the first step in developing a scale to measure attitudes toward pregnant women who consume alcohol. Fifteen initial items were developed based on instruments that assess similar constructs (e.g., attitudes toward pregnant women with HIV) and data were collected from 194 college students (72.5% female; mean age = 24.9 years). Upon analysis, the item pool was reduced to 10 items. With the 10 item scale, principal component analysis showed a single component structure accounting for 48.7% of the variance and high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .88).

These results demonstrate psychometric properties of a new scale to assess attitudes toward pregnant women who consume alcohol. Additional research is needed to explore the use of this measure with different groups, particularly healthcare workers who serve pregnant women.