Development of a Revised and Abbreviated Version of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ-R): First U.S. Validation and Association to Child Outcomes
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| Title: | Development of a Revised and Abbreviated Version of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ-R): First U.S. Validation and Association to Child Outcomes |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Andréane Lavallée (ORCID |
| Source: | Infant Mental Health Journal: Infancy and Early Childhood. 2026 47(1). |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (DHHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (DHHS/PHS) |
| Contract Number: | K99HD115784 R01MH126531 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Test Construction, Infants, Parent Child Relationship, Mothers, Questionnaires, Test Validity, Depression (Psychology), Child Development, Social Development, Emotional Development, Psychometrics, Factor Structure, Test Reliability, English, Spanish, Child Behavior, Individual Characteristics |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Child Behavior Checklist |
| DOI: | 10.1002/imhj.70052 |
| ISSN: | 0163-9641 1097-0355 |
| Abstract: | The postpartum bonding questionnaire (PBQ) is a maternal-reported 25-item measure of bonding, available in 15 languages, and widely used for clinical and research purposes in the United States (U.S.) and across the globe. Nonetheless, its putative 4-factor structure initially proposed in 2001 has never generalized or been replicated in other samples, nor has it been studied in U.S. populations. Using a U.S.-based sample of 610 English-speaking mothers who completed the PBQ 4 months postpartum--mean 32.51 ± 5.25 years old and 47.5% first-time mothers--the initial goal of this study was to confirm the 4-factor/25-item structure of the PBQ. Aligned with other published studies, our confirmatory factor analysis did not support the 4-factor/25-item structure. We then used exploratory factor analysis which supported the creation of a 1-factor/14-item abbreviated measure, the PBQ-R. Unlike previous versions of the PBQ, the PBQ-R is scored so that higher scores indicate stronger bonding. The validity of the PBQ-R was supported by its high internal consistency in this sample (w = 0.89), and correlations with maternal depression ([rho] = -0.46) and child neurodevelopment ([rho] = 0.11 to [rho] = 22) and socio-emotional symptoms ([rho] = -0.22 to [rho] = -0.33). The new unidimensional shorter PBQ-R is suitable for use in the U.S. as a measure of general mother-infant bonding. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1493762 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The postpartum bonding questionnaire (PBQ) is a maternal-reported 25-item measure of bonding, available in 15 languages, and widely used for clinical and research purposes in the United States (U.S.) and across the globe. Nonetheless, its putative 4-factor structure initially proposed in 2001 has never generalized or been replicated in other samples, nor has it been studied in U.S. populations. Using a U.S.-based sample of 610 English-speaking mothers who completed the PBQ 4 months postpartum--mean 32.51 ± 5.25 years old and 47.5% first-time mothers--the initial goal of this study was to confirm the 4-factor/25-item structure of the PBQ. Aligned with other published studies, our confirmatory factor analysis did not support the 4-factor/25-item structure. We then used exploratory factor analysis which supported the creation of a 1-factor/14-item abbreviated measure, the PBQ-R. Unlike previous versions of the PBQ, the PBQ-R is scored so that higher scores indicate stronger bonding. The validity of the PBQ-R was supported by its high internal consistency in this sample (w = 0.89), and correlations with maternal depression ([rho] = -0.46) and child neurodevelopment ([rho] = 0.11 to [rho] = 22) and socio-emotional symptoms ([rho] = -0.22 to [rho] = -0.33). The new unidimensional shorter PBQ-R is suitable for use in the U.S. as a measure of general mother-infant bonding. |
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| ISSN: | 0163-9641 1097-0355 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/imhj.70052 |
