Validated assessment tool — Condon, 1993
Paternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (PAAS)
16 items — two subscales — Quality of Attachment & Intensity of Preoccupation — for fathers and co-parents
Clinician opening script — read aloud before starting
Read this to the patient before starting:
"I would like to ask you some questions about your thoughts and feelings about the baby your partner is carrying. These questions are about the relationship that is already beginning to develop between you and the baby during the pregnancy.
For each question I will read you a statement and ask you to choose the response that best describes how you have been feeling or thinking over the past two weeks. There are no right or wrong answers — we are interested in your honest experience, however you have been feeling. The experience of pregnancy is different for fathers and partners, and this assessment is designed specifically to reflect that.
This is not a test. It helps us understand how the pregnancy is going for you and whether there is anything we can do to better support you."
Language note: This scale uses "baby" and "partner" throughout. Adapt pronouns and relationship terms as appropriate for the patient in front of you. The instrument is equally valid for same-sex co-parents, adoptive fathers, and non-gestational parents in any family configuration.
"I would like to ask you some questions about your thoughts and feelings about the baby your partner is carrying. These questions are about the relationship that is already beginning to develop between you and the baby during the pregnancy.
For each question I will read you a statement and ask you to choose the response that best describes how you have been feeling or thinking over the past two weeks. There are no right or wrong answers — we are interested in your honest experience, however you have been feeling. The experience of pregnancy is different for fathers and partners, and this assessment is designed specifically to reflect that.
This is not a test. It helps us understand how the pregnancy is going for you and whether there is anything we can do to better support you."
Language note: This scale uses "baby" and "partner" throughout. Adapt pronouns and relationship terms as appropriate for the patient in front of you. The instrument is equally valid for same-sex co-parents, adoptive fathers, and non-gestational parents in any family configuration.
About the PAAS
Scoring & interpretation
Intensity of Preoccupation (9 items)
Measures how often and how deeply the father or co-parent thinks about and focuses on the unborn baby. Higher scores reflect greater preoccupation. Very low scores may indicate emotional distance from the pregnancy, which may benefit from clinical exploration.
Quality of Attachment (7 items)
Measures the emotional tone of the father's or co-parent's relationship with the baby — whether thoughts and feelings about the baby are predominantly warm and positive, or characterised by indifference, ambivalence, or negativity. Low quality scores warrant sensitive clinical follow-up.
The PAAS was developed alongside the MAAS by Condon (1993) to assess antenatal attachment in fathers and co-parents. It recognises that the paternal experience of pregnancy is qualitatively different — the co-parent is not physically carrying the baby and may have a more mediated relationship with fetal movement and physical sensation. Published normative data is more limited than for the MAAS; scores should be interpreted with this in mind and always alongside clinical assessment.
How to administer
1
Read each item aloud exactly as written using a 1–5 scale. Read all five response options before the patient answers. Do not summarise or paraphrase the options.2
The scale covers the past two weeks. If a patient refers to a specific event, gently redirect: "Thinking about the past two weeks as a whole, which option fits best?"3
Some items are reverse scored. Scoring is applied automatically — select the patient's chosen response and the correct value is calculated. Do not adjust scores manually.4
Blue items contribute to Intensity of Preoccupation; teal items to Quality of Attachment. Do not indicate this distinction to the patient during administration.5
Paternal antenatal attachment is often less discussed clinically than maternal attachment. Normalise the assessment for the patient: "These questions are asked of all partners in our service because we know the pregnancy matters to you too."iFathers and co-parents are significantly less likely than mothers to be asked about their emotional experience of pregnancy. Low scores may reflect genuine ambivalence, but may also reflect a lack of prior opportunity to reflect on these feelings. Hold space for this and avoid pathologising lower scores without clinical context.
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