Psychological tests for expectant parents and young children in the Nordic countries : A review of the evidence

• Main Authors: Peltonen, Kirsi, Kurki, Marjo, Reedtz, Charlotte, Kaiser, Sabine, Rasmussen, Lene-Mari P., Merikukka, Marko, Rye, Marte, Laajasalo, Taina, Kyrrestad, Henriette, Karjalainen, Piia, Pettersen, Susann Dahl, Eng, Helene, Breivik, Kyrre, Martinussen, Monica
• Other Authors: Faculty Common Matters (Faculty of Medicine)
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Published: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD 2023
• Subjects: Psychological tests; psychometrics; parents; babies; toddlers; pregnancy; EDINBURGH POSTNATAL DEPRESSION; ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES; MOTHER-INFANT INTERACTION; EVALUATION-OUTCOME MEASURE; STRESS SCALES DASS; PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES; MODIFIED CHECKLIST; MENTAL-HEALTH; GENERAL-POPULATION; ROUTINE EVALUATION; 515 Psychology; Arctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/357314

The aim of this article is to review the psychometric properties of the psychological tests that are being used in the Nordic countries during pregnancy and the child's first two years of life. A systematic literature search was performed for 33 identified tests routinely used in health care, using specific review databases as well as PsycInfo, Embase and Medline. The trained authors conducted an overall assessment of quality for each test which was then verified by the editors. A total of 12% of the tests were rated at Level 1 'Low level of quality', 61% at Level 2 'Some evidence of Quality', 15% at level 3 'Good level of Quality' and 12% at Level 4 'High level of quality'. This indicates that the evidence for the psychometric properties is insufficient for many tests used in the Nordic countries for this purpose Peer reviewed