Validating the Psychometric Characteristics of the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PPQ) in a Chinese Context.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PPTSD) is a common stress-induced mental disorder worldwide. The Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PPQ) is an excellent questionnaire that measures the symptoms of PPTSD, but has not been translated into Chinese yet.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to develop a translated Chinese version of the (PPQ) and validate the psychometric characteristics of the PPQ in a Chinese context.

METHODS: After translation, back-translation, and expert discussion, 280 mothers at 1 to 18months postpartum filled out the questionnaires through the Internet. Then the reliability and validity of the translated questionnaire were tested.

RESULTS: The Chinese version of PPQ (PPQ-C) was composed of 14 items. Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.84, test-retest reliability was 0.88, and the content validity was 0.99. Exploratory factor analysis extracted three factors (representing "arousal", "avoidance" and "intrusion") accounted for 53.30% of the variance. The established 3 factors model was well fitted with the collected data (χ2 =76.40, p<0.05).

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The PPQ-C is a short, reliable, and valid instrument that measures the symptoms of PPTSD, and it is recommend for clinical screening.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Further research could involve diverse participants, as well as better adapt the PPQ-C to Chinese culture.