摘要：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 α,Pearson`s correlation and F-test. Sixty of the eighty items were significant and deemed acceptable through item discrimination method with indices ranging from. 32 to .95. Factor analytic procedures have selected 54 item,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 α = .85). The correlation of the MSAS with the Spielberger`s State Anxiety measure yielded a coefficient of .36,revealing a moderate and positive relationship..
