Development and Validation of Gestational Diabetes Dietary Psychological Evaluations Scale

Abstract Objective To develop and validate a dietary psychological evaluation scale for patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to capture their psychological aspects for individualized interventions. Methods A list of 57 questions was generated by combining clinical practice and theory. Content validity was established by 9 experts. Pre-test was conducted (n = 286) for item selection and assess comprehension and readability. Two sample t-test, correlation coefficient and internal consistency analysis were conducted to test the reliability. Pilot test was conducted (n = 312) to assess validity using Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) as the calibration scale. Correlation coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis were used. The scale’s model was established using a 3,300 sample to determine norm values. Two sample t-test and correlation coefficient methods were used to test representativeness and independence of all items. Results In the end, 41 items were selected and 4 domains were determined: worry feeling (0.830), positive experience (0.676), negative experience (0.649) and stress (0.560). Cronbach αvalues of each domain (0.560–0.869) were acceptable except for stress domain. The results of factor analysis (χ 2 /df = 2.36, GFT = 0.908, AGFI = 0.898, NFI = 0.854, RFI = 0.782, CFI = 0.882, RMSEA = 0.059) indicated a good fit of the theoretical model. The norm values of this dietary psychological evaluation were determined. Conclusion This scale was designed based on the characteristics of dietary anxiety in the course of GDM. The test results indicated that the scale has good reliability and validity, and could be used to evaluate dietary anxiety in GDM patients.