Assessment of the Attitudes Toward Childbirth in Health Sciences Students–Turkish Adaptation of the Questionnaire CAVE-ST-TR

Abstract

Background: Developing and improving education and training programs for future health professionals as a way to enhance perinatal care and reduce obstetric traumas is a necessity. Objective: The goal of the current study is to adapt a questionnaire that evaluates health science students’ attitudes toward women’s childbirth experiences (CAVE-ST; acronym is for cuestionario de actitudes sobre vivencias y experiencias en el parto) into Turkish and assess its psychometric properties. Method: The sample comprised 950 undergraduate students in midwifery departments in Turkey aged between 20 and 41 years (M = 22.42, SD = 1.79). Participants filled out the Demographic Information Form as well as CAVE-ST-TR. Item and scale content validity index (I-CVI and S-CVI), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Pearson’s correlation coefficients, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient, and Guttman split-half coefficient were used to examine psychometric properties. Results: The results revealed that the 52-item and four-factor CAVE-ST-TR is a valid and reliable tool to assess health science students’ attitudes toward women’s childbirth experiences. Conclusion: This study would enhance the cross-cultural utility of the questionnaire.