Desenvolvimento e validação factorial da escala de motivos face à parentalidade

Abstract

To have a child is considered to be a decision infl uenced by several factors. This paper describes the process of development and validation of an instrument in Portuguese language to analyze the motives underlying this decision. The Motives toward Parenthood Scale was developed using a revision of previous studies and instruments. Exploratory and confi rmatory factor analyses were performed using different samples. The fi nal scale is composed of 30 items and 4 factors: Emotional Enrichment, Social Recognition, Lifestyle Interference and Anticipation of Problems in the development of the child. All subscales showed good internal consistency and good factorial stability. This instrument is expected to allow for a more comprehensive analysis of the decision to have a child.