Psychometric Testing of the Walker's Feelings and Thoughts About Weight Scale in Taiwan
type: CreativeWork
description: Background: The majority of women do not return to their pre-pregnant weight after six weeks postpartum in Taiwan. Excessive postpartum weight retention or gain can lead to long-term obesity and increase a woman's risk of major health problems. Trends among Taiwanese women reveal an increasing prevalence of obesity. Limiting postpartum weight retention is important for preventing long-term obesity development. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of postpartum weight gain among Taiwanese women using the modified Thriving Model (Walker & Kim, 2002) as the guiding conceptual framework and to examine the psychometric properties of a Chinese Version of the Feelings and Thoughts About Weight (FATAW) scale. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design and a convenience sample of postpartum women three-to-nine month postpartum were recruited over a 6-month period (September 2005 through February 2006). Setting: Waiting room of the well baby clinic which routinely takes place six days a week at a large Maternity Center in the Taipei metropolitan area, northern Taiwan. Human subjects approval was obtained through the University of San Diego as well as Institutional Review Boards associated with the Maternity Center. Data analysis: Descriptive statistics, correlations and factor analysis were used. Results: Findings indicated that CFATAW was a valid and reliable scale to measure postpartum women's feelings and thoughts about weight in Taiwan. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for the total scale was 0.89. Women with BMI equal or greater than 24.00 and weight retention in this study had a significantly higher relative risk of reporting higher level of weight-related distress in the early months after childbirth in Taiwan. Conclusions: The results of this study show that the measurement of weight-related feelings and thoughts in the Chinese version is content valid and the instrument is internally consistent and construct valid for use in …
abstract: Background: The majority of women do not return to their pre-pregnant weight after six weeks postpartum in Taiwan. Excessive postpartum weight retention or gain can lead to long-term obesity and increase a woman's risk of major health problems. Trends among Taiwanese women reveal an increasing prevalence of obesity. Limiting postpartum weight retention is important for preventing long-term obesity development. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of postpartum weight gain among Taiwanese women using the modified Thriving Model (Walker & Kim, 2002) as the guiding conceptual framework and to examine the psychometric properties of a Chinese Version of the Feelings and Thoughts About Weight (FATAW) scale. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design and a convenience sample of postpartum women three-to-nine month postpartum were recruited over a 6-month period (September 2005 through February 2006). Setting: Waiting room of the well baby clinic which routinely takes place six days a week at a large Maternity Center in the Taipei metropolitan area, northern Taiwan. Human subjects approval was obtained through the University of San Diego as well as Institutional Review Boards associated with the Maternity Center. Data analysis: Descriptive statistics, correlations and factor analysis were used. Results: Findings indicated that CFATAW was a valid and reliable scale to measure postpartum women's feelings and thoughts about weight in Taiwan. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for the total scale was 0.89. Women with BMI equal or greater than 24.00 and weight retention in this study had a significantly higher relative risk of reporting higher level of weight-related distress in the early months after childbirth in Taiwan. Conclusions: The results of this study show that the measurement of weight-related feelings and thoughts in the Chinese version is content valid and the instrument is internally consistent and construct valid for use in …
author: Chang, Shu-wen, PhD
keywords: Feelings and Thoughts About Weight, nursing, Obesity, Postpartum weight retention, Psychometric testing, Taiwan
date published: 2007-04-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:41:10Z
provider: University of San Diego
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of San Diego