Development and Validation of the Maternal Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding in Public Scale

BACKGROUND: Public breastfeeding is influenced by social norms, cultural perceptions, and personal comfort, yet there is a lack of standardized instruments to assess societal attitudes toward breastfeeding in public spaces. RESEARCH AIM: To develop and validate the Maternal Attitudes toward Breastfeeding in Public Scale (MABPS), an instrument designed to assess mothers' perceptions of societal attitudes toward their own breastfeeding in public spaces. METHODS: The cross-sectional validation study was conducted with a sample of 320 breastfeeding women in Turkey. The development process included: (i) conceptual framework formulation based on an extensive literature review, (ii) content validity assessment by experts in maternal and child health, (iii) construct validity using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (EFA & CFA), (iv) internal consistency analysis via Cronbach's Alpha, and (v) reliability assessment via Split-half and item analysis. RESULTS: The final version of the MABPS consists of three subdimensions: (1) Breastfeeding Comfort in Public, (2) Support for Breastfeeding, and (3) Barriers to Public Breastfeeding. Factor loadings ranged from 0.56 to 0.84 and the model fit indices (CFI = 0.930, TLI = 0.912, RMSEA = 0.069) indicated good construct validity. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.859). CONCLUSION: The MABPS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing public attitudes toward breastfeeding in social spaces. This tool can support policy-making, social interventions, and awareness campaigns to normalize and promote public breastfeeding.