Psychometric evaluation of the Afaan Oromo version of the exclusive breastfeeding social support scale among Ethiopian women

Problem: There is a lack of validated tools for assessing social support for Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) practice in Ethiopia. Background: Validating instruments ensures culturally appropriate and reliable data collection for effective research and interventions. Aim: This study aimed to translate the exclusive breastfeeding social support scale into the Afaan Oromo language (EBFSS-AO) and test its psychometric properties among Ethiopian women. Methods: The scale was first subjected to forward and backward translation before undergoing psychometric evaluation. Then, a cross-sectional study was conducted on convenience sample of 160 postpartum women. Content validity was assessed via Content Validity Index (CVI), and construct validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with maximum likelihood estimation. The scale's reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Findings: The CFA verified that the EBFSS-AO for Ethiopian women is a three-dimensional scale with satisfactory fit indices; x²/df: 2.76; Comparative fit index: 0.917; Tucker-Lewis Index: 0.902; Standardized Root Mean square residual: 0.061; and Root mean square error of approximation: 0.105. Item-level CVI ranged from 0.86 to 1.00, and scale-level CVI was 0.98. The overall scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95 while instrumental, emotional, and informational support subscales had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.89, 0.92, and 0.93 respectively. After a 4-week re-test, the ICC yielded a value of 0.94. Partner support on EBF showed no socio-demographic differences except for income. Conclusion: The EBFSS-AO showed satisfactory psychometric properties, suitable for assessing social support among Ethiopian women in both research and clinical contexts.