Initial psychometric analysis of novel instruments to assess decisional distress and decisional uncertainty in women who have considered using preimplantation genetic testing

Objective To analyze psychometric properties of two novel instruments assessing decisional distress and uncertainty experienced by individuals considering preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). Methods The new PGT Decisional Distress instrument (22 items) assesses negative/positive emotions. The new PGT Decisional Uncertainty instrument assesses Clarity about test benefits/disadvantages (5 items) and Certainty of having adequate information/support to make a good decision (7 items). Scales ranged from 0 to 4. Psychometrics (central tendencies, internal consistency reliability, and discriminant validity) were evaluated. Stratified analysis by decision stage was conducted. All participants had considered or used PGT in the previous 6 months. Results N = 106 females (mean age 36.5 ± 4.8 years; 16% non‐Caucasian; 9% Hispanic) across 16 US states completed an online anonymous questionnaire. On average, respondents reported minimal distress (mean 0.96), high clarity (mean 3.26), and high certainty (mean 3.06), particularly those who had already decided compared to undecided women (P ≤ .02). Instruments had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α's 0.92‐0.94) and displayed sufficient inter‐individual variability (SD's 0.75‐0.89). Correlations confirmed expected patterns of association between instruments (P's