Cross-cultural adaptation of the behavior change stages and of change processes for exclusive breastfeeding

ABSTRACT Objective: To cross-culturally translate and adapt an instrument that evaluates the intention of exclusive breastfeeding and the processes used by woman to change behavior, and to test its psychometric properties. Methods: The translation and cultural adaptation, performed in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, followed six steps, which included the translation and adaptation of language to the sociocultural context of the population of interest by evaluating the cross-cultural equivalence. Content validity based on the content validity index and internal consistency was performed by Cronbach's alpha. Results: The instrument areas were representative for evaluating intention to breastfeed exclusively and of change processes. The content validity index was 0,84, and Cronbach's Alpha values were 0.81 and 0.77 for the stages of change and of change processes, respectively. These values are considered acceptable in instrument adaptation. Conclusion: The study conceived a preliminary instrument for promoting exclusive breastfeeding in Brazilian public healthcare services and behavior studies. More studies with other population contexts are recommended to assess the psychometric properties of this instrument so that it may become a parameter for promoting behavior change towards exclusive breastfeeding.