The Maternal Attachment Inventory: Development and validation of a short form

Abstract Aims To translate and adapt the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) into Spanish; to develop a short form of the instrument that can be used during early childhood; and to test its psychometric properties in a large sample of Spanish mothers. Design Cross‐sectional study of adaptation and cultural validation of instruments. Methods Data were collected between February and September 2018. In Stage I, the instrument was culturally adapted using a standardized translation and back‐translation method. In Stage II, the factor structure of the Spanish version was tested in a sample of 300 mothers with children aged between 2 and 7 years, and on the basis of the findings a short form of the instrument was developed. Finally, in Stage III, in a second sample of 356 mothers, confirmatory factor analyses of first‐, second‐order and bi‐factor structure were conducted to find the optimal factor structure of the short form of the Spanish MAI. Convergent validity, internal consistency and test–retest reliability were also examined. Results A bi‐factor structure with four sub‐scales and 17 items emerged from the factor analyses conducted in Stages II and III. Scores on the short form were negatively correlated with mother‐to‐infant bonding disorders. The short form presented adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Conclusions The Spanish MAI short form is a valid and reliable measure for assessing maternal attachment in mothers of children aged between 2 and 7 years. Impact We present a short version of the MAI for healthcare professionals, adapted for application in a new age range and validated for use with Spanish mothers.