Abstract
The purpose of this study was the development of a scale to assess maternal anxiety after mother-child separation. Subjects consisted of 384 mothers who had children from 6 to .36 months of age. A questionnaire consisting of eighty Likert-type items and Spielberger's(1970) State Anxiety Scale were administered to mothers and data were analyzed using item analysis. factor analysis. multiple regression. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$. Pearson's correlation and F-test. Sixty of the eighty items were significant and deemed acceptible through item discrimination method with indices ranging from. 32 to .95. Factor analytic procedures have selected 54 items of the 60-item scale and supported a 5-factor solution. The subscales labeled 'Maternal Separation Anxiety'. 'Perception of Separation Effects on the Child', 'Desire for Physical Cuddling and Closeness'. 'Attitudes toward the Value or Importance of Exclusive Maternal Care' and 'Employment-related Separation Concerns,' Finally. a multiple regression analysis conducted to reduce the length of the scale yielded a 39-item form for the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale(MSAS). Internal consistency of the MSAS was high(Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ =.85). The correlation of the MSAS with the Spielberger's State Anxiety measure yielded a coefficient of .36, revealing a moderate and positive relationship.
