CHILDBIRTH CONFIDENCE - VALIDATING THE CHILDBIRTH SELF-EFFICACY INVENTORY (CBSEI) IN AN AUSTRALIAN SAMPLE

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Childbirth Sel f-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI) (Lowe 1993) in a sample of 100 Australian women. Consistent with US data, the measure was shown to have high in ternal consistency. Validity of the instrument was determined by apply ing self-efficacy theory (Bandura 1982), which predicts that parity sh ould have the largest effect on childbirth self-efficacy, followed by knowledge, then support and finally anxiety. Results revealed that hav ing a prior good birth experience and knowledge about childbirth had s ignificant effects on childbirth self-efficacy. A factor analysis was performed to determine whether the original factor structure of this i nstrument held for Australian women, While outcome expectancies and se lf-efficacy expectancies emerged as distinct factors, the results show ed that Australian women did not differentiate between active and seco nd-stage labour, Rather than the two stages of labour emerging as dime nsions of the CBSEI, two externally focused coping strategies were rev ealed.