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Evaluation of the French Version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support During the Postpartum Period

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Abstract

In the presence of physical and psychological disturbances in the postpartum period, perceived social support is often regarded as a protective factor in women’s mental health. This work evaluates the psychometric properties of the French version of a questionnaire widely used internationally to measure perceived social support, which has not been yet validated in French: the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). This study collected data from 148 women (30.5 ± 5.12 years) who agreed to complete the MSPSS and a scale assessing symptoms of postpartum depression (Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale, EPDS) 1 and 4 months after childbirth. The results confirm the original three-factor structure of the scale. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients are excellent. The total scale score is correlated with all three dimensions and a significantly negative correlation is found between MSPSS and EPDS. The results suggest that the French tool has generally good internal reliability. The MSPSS can provide useful data helping to identify French-speaking people at risk for negative feelings (e.g., mood disorders of perinatal period).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire InterUniversitaire de Psychologie (LIP), UFR LLSH – LIP, Université de Savoie, Domaine Jacob Bellecombette, BP 1104, 73011, Chambéry Cedex, France

    A. Denis

  2. Centre d’études et de recherches en psychopathologie (CERPP), Université Toulouse II le Mirail, Toulouse, France

    S. Callahan

  3. Laboratoire de psychologie et neurocognition (LPNC), Université de Savoie, Chambéry, France

    M. Bouvard

Authors
  1. A. Denis
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  2. S. Callahan
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  3. M. Bouvard
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Denis.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 6.

Table 6 French translation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support
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Denis, A., Callahan, S. & Bouvard, M. Evaluation of the French Version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support During the Postpartum Period. Matern Child Health J 19, 1245–1251 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1630-9

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