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Article: Measuring the ups and downs of pregnancy stress
- Article from:
- Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Article date:
- September 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright CRC Press Sep-Dec 2004. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Despite substantial interest in the effects of stress on pregnancy, few instruments are available to measure pregnancy-specific stressors. Moreover, research has typically focused on the distressing, negative aspects of pregnancy. This report examines the reliability and validity of the Pregnancy Experience Scale (PES), a 41-item scale that measures pregnancy-specific daily hassles and uplifts. The PES was administered to two cohorts of low risk women at 24, 30, and 36 weeks (n = 52) or 32 and 38 weeks (n = 137). Women perceived their pregnancies to be significantly more intensely and frequently uplifting than hassling. Internal scale reliability was high (α = 0.91 to 0.95). Frequency ...