The Maternal Fetal Attachment Scale: Some Methodological Ponderings

The development of Cranley’s (1981) Maternal Fetal Attachment Scale
(MFAS) has stimulated a great deal of research and discussion about the theories, methods and moderating
factors affecting prenatal attachment. However, there has been considerable questioning of the validity of the
MFAS. For example, it remains unclear whether the inconsistencies found in the literature using the MFAS are
related to the issue of the conceptualization of the dimensions measured with this test, the items that are
included in the test, or the interaction of the MFAS with personality, situational, ecological or demographic
factors that influence pregnant women. The present paper is a discussion of five issues that relate to clarifying
the use of the MFAS as a measure of prenatal attachment. The five issues include a discussion of the
subscales of the test, the general reliability of the test, the validity, factors correlated with the MFAS and the
concern about normative data for the measure. Each of these issues is developed both with a survey of the
relevant literature and related theoretical ponderings. Suggestions for future research are included. KEY
WORDS: prenatal attachment; maternal fetal attachment; maternal fetal attachment scale.