Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T09:50:09.220Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The use of Rating Scales to Identify Post-natal Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Brian Harris ,
Philip Huckle ,
Roger Thomas ,
Sandra Johns  and
Hedi Fung
Brian Harris*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff
Philip Huckle
Affiliation:
Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff
Roger Thomas
Affiliation:
Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff
Sandra Johns
Affiliation:
Cefn Coed Hospital, Swansea
Hedi Fung
Affiliation:
Obstetrics, King's College Hospital Group, London
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

One hundred and forty-seven mothers were screened for major depression at six to eight weeks postpartum. Using predetermined cut-off points, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Beck scale were compared in their abilities to identify the 15% of subjects who had major depression according to DSM-III criteria. The sensitivity of Edinburgh scale was 95% and its specificity 93%. The performance of the Beck scale was markedly inferior, with a sensitivity of 68% and specificity of 88%.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 6 , June 1989 , pp. 813 - 817
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J. E. & Erbaugh, J. (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571.Google Scholar
Bedford, A. & Foulds, G. (1978) Delusions – Symptoms – States, Inventory, State of Anxiety and Depression (Manual). Windsor: National Foundation for Education Research.Google Scholar
Cavanaugh, S. von A. (1983) The prevalence of emotional and cognitive dysfunction in a general medical population, using the MMSE, GHQ and BDI. General Hospital Psychiatry, 5, 15–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavanaugh, S., Clark, D. C. & Gibbons, R. D. (1983) Diagnosing depression in the hospitalised medically ill. Psychosomatics, 24, 809–815.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, J. L., Connor, Y. & Kendell, R. E. (1982) Prospective study of the psychiatric disorders of childbirth. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 111–117.Google Scholar
Cox, J. L., Connor, Y. M., Henderson, I. P., et al (1983) Prospective study of the psychiatric disorders by self-report questionnaire. Journal of Affective disorders, 5, 1–7.Google Scholar
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M. & Sagovsky, R. (1987) Detection of postnatal depression – development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 782–786.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dalton, K. (1971) Prospective study into puerperal depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 118, 689–692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fung, H. Y. M., Kologlu, M., Collison, K., et al (1988) Postpartum mood: thyroid dysfunction in Mid Glamorgan. British Medical Journal, 296, 241–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960) A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 23, 56–62.Google Scholar
Harris, B., Young, J. P. R. & Hughes, W. (1984) Appetite and weight change in patients presenting with depressive illness. Journal of Affective Disorders, 6, 331–339.Google Scholar
Kearns, N. P., Cruickshank, K. J., McGuigan, K. J., et al (1982) A comparison of depression rating scales. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 45–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kumar, R. & Robson, K. M. (1984) A prospective study of emotional disorders in childbearing women. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 35–37.Google Scholar
Margison, F. & Brockington, I. F. (1982) In Motherhood and Mental Illness (eds Brockington, I. F. & Kumar, R.). London: Academic Press/Grune and Stratton.Google Scholar
Montgomery, S. A. & Asberg, M. (1979) A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 382–389.Google Scholar
Nielsen, A. C. & Williams, T. A. (1980) Depression in ambulatory medical patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 999–1004.Google Scholar
O'hara, M. W., Rehm, L. P. & Campbell, S. B. (1983) Postpartum depression: a role for social network and life stress variables. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 171, 336–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, E. S., Emms, E. M., Fletcher, J. & Rassaby, E. S. (1980) Life events and social support in puerperal depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 339–346.Google Scholar
Pitt, B. (1968) Atypical depression following childbirth, British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 1325–1335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raskin, A., Schulterbrandt, J., Reatig, N. & McKison, J. (1970) Differential response to chlorpromazine, imipramine and placebo – a study of subgroups of hospitalised depressed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 23, 164–173.Google Scholar
Ryle, A. (1961) The psychological disturbances associated with 345 pregnancies in 137 women. Journal of Mental Science, 107, 279–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snaith, R. P. (1987) Concepts of mild depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 387–393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snaith, R. P., Constantopoulos, A. A., Jardine, M. Y. & McGuffin, P. (1978) A clinical scale for the self assessment of irritability. British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 164–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snaith, R. P., Harrop, F. M., Newby, D. A. & Teale, C. (1986) Grade scores of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression and the Clinical Anxiety scales. British Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 599–601.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. & Robins, S. (1978) Research Diagnostic Criteria. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 773–782.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, J. P., Elliot, S. A., Rugg, A. J. & Brough, D. I. (1984) Psychiatric disorder in pregnancy and the first postnatal year. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 453–462.Google Scholar
Williams, P., Tarnpolsky, A. & Hand, D. (1980) Case definition and case identification in psychiatry epidemiology – review and assessment. Psychological Medicine, 10, 101–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wing, T. K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartorius, N. (1973) Present State Examination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wrate, R. M., Rooney, A. C., Thomas, P. F. & Cox, J. L. (1985) Postnatal depression and child development – a three-year follow up study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 622–627.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zoccolillo, M., Murphy, G. E. & Wetzel, R. D. (1986) Depression among medical students. Journal of Affective Disorders, 11, 91–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.