The method "Test of maternal relationships at the stage of existence of the mother-child dyad": testing and validation on a clinical sample

This article presents a study reflecting the results of the testing and validation of the "Test of Maternal Relationships at the Stage of Mother-Child System Formation" method. The results of the testing and validation of the TOM method were obtained using a clinical sample (N=205). The clinical group of respondents consisted of women with and without a history of perinatal loss, whose pregnancies resulted in the birth of a child with a medical condition.Results of the study: The modification of the methodology consisted in a substantive change in the questions aimed at identifying the characteristics of women's attitudes in the categories of "attitude to motherhood", "attitude to the mother-child system", "attitude to the attitude of others". The term "hypoinfantognosic type of attitude" was introduced. The results of validation are described: the Cronbach's alpha indicator for the scales characteristic of the euphoric (a = 0.608), optimal (a = 0.72), anxious (a = 0.65), hypoinfantognosic (a = 0.82), depressive (a = 0.75) types of maternal attitude, indicates sufficient internal consistency of the TOM technique. The diagnostic sensitivity of the method's scale indicators was confirmed (Student's t-test and Pearson correlation analysis). Five main clusters were identified, characterized by a balance of the existing scales, and two clusters including scales specific to different types of relationships (variable clustering using the long-range coupling method). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0 and Jamovi 2.4.1.The "Mother Relationship Test during the Mother-Child Dyad Existence" (the "Pregnant Woman Relationship Test" in its modification) can be used by clinical (perinatal) psychologists for diagnostic purposes, both in the case of the birth of a healthy newborn and in the case of a child with a medical condition.