452 Validation of An Observational Rating Scale of Parental Interactions with Very Preterm Infants

Abstract

Objective: To date studies exploring the influence of maternal interactions on promoting cognitive and emotional development have relied on study specific scales or used the highly regarded Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS). This study will validate a new, brief and easy to use measure developed to assess the quality of early maternal interactions.Method: Participants were 43 mothers and their very preterm infants (< 32 weeks gestation) selected from a representative sample recruited in a previous study. Mothers were videoed undertaking a teaching task with their infant at 3-months corrected age and mother-infant interaction was assessed using the NCATS (73 items). In the present study interactions were reassessed using the purpose-developed 8 item Observational Scale for Parent Interaction (OSPI), possible scores range from 0 to 15.Results: OSPI scores ranged from 1 to 15, with a median score of 7. The scale had good internal consistency Cronbach's alpha=0.758. OSPI scores correlated significantly with the NCATS Caregiver score (r=0.781, n=43, p< 0.001), and with the NCATS Caregiver and Child total score (r=0.772, n=43, p< 0.001) demonstrating concurrent validity. Infant's gestational age correlated significantly with the OSPI (r=0.448, n=43, p=0.003) but not with mother's age indicating construct validity. Ten interactions were re-rated using the OSPI and the intraclass correlation of 0.904 shows excellent test re-test reliability.Conclusions: The OSPI is a valid and reliable measure of maternal interactions which is cost and time efficient. The scale should prove a useful measure particularly for larger studies.