Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-9nwgx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-14T23:11:02.056Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The development and validation of a predictive index for postpartum depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

P. J. Cooper ,
L. Murray ,
R. Hooper  and
A. West
P. J. Cooper*
Affiliation:
Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
L. Murray
Affiliation:
Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
R. Hooper
Affiliation:
Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
A. West
Affiliation:
Winnicott Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor Peter J. Cooper, Department of Psychology, The University of Reading, 3 Earley Gate, Whiteknights Road, Reading RG6 6AL.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

A sample of over 6000 women was recruited in the last trimester of pregnancy and administered a 40-item self-report questionnaire designed to detect the presence of factors that were likely to increase the risk of postpartum depression. The mental state of almost 5000 of these women was determined at around 6 to 8 weeks postpartum. By conducting a series of logistic regressions on two-thirds of this sample the original set of variables was reduced to a predictive index of 17 items with weighted scores calculated for each. This index was then applied to the remaining one-third of the sample as a validating procedure and specificity and sensitivity calculated. The index offers a system for the prediction of postpartum depression that could be of use in both research and clinical practice.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , May 1996 , pp. 627 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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

REFERENCES

Appleby, L., Gregoire, A., Platz, C., Martin, P. & Kumar, R. (1994). Screening women for high risk of postnatal depression. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 38, 539–545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brazelton, T. B. (1984). Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale, 2nd edn. Clinics in Developmental Medicine. No. 88. London Spastics International Medical Publications: London.Google Scholar
Cooper, P. J. & Murray, L. (1995). The course and recurrence of postnatal depression. British Journal of Psychiatry 166, 191–195.Google Scholar
Cooper, P. J., Campbell, E., Day, A. & Kennerley, H. & Bond, A. (1988). Non-psychotic psychiatric disorder after childbirth: a prospective study of prevalence, incidence, course and nature. British Journal of Psychiatry 152, 799–806.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, P. J., Murray, L. & Stein, A. (1991). Postnatal depression. In The European Handbook of Psychiatry and Mental Health (ed. Seva, J.), pp. 1255–1262. Zaragos: Anthropos.Google Scholar
Cox, J., Connor, Y. M. & Kendell, R. E. (1982). Prospective study of the psychiatric disorders of childbirth. British Journal of Psychiatry 140, 111–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, J., Holden, J. & Sagorsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: development of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry 150, 782–786.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, J., Murray, D. & Chapman, G. (1993). A controlled study of the onset, duration and prevalence of postnatal depression. British Journal of Psychiatry 163, 27–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kennerley, H. & Gath, D. (1989). ‘Maternity Blues’: detection and measurement by questionnaire. British Journal of Psychiatry 155, 356–373.Google Scholar
Kumar, R. & Robson, K. (1984). A prospective study of emotional disorders in child-bearing women. British Journal of Psychiatry 144, 35–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, L. (1992). The impact of postnatal depression on infant development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 33, 543–561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murray, L. & Carothers, A. D. (1990). The validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on a community sample. British Journal of Psychiatry 157, 288–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murray, L. & Hipwell, A. (1995). The impact of maternal psychiatric disorders occurring after childbirth on the child. Current Obstetrics and Gynaecology 5, 75–80.Google Scholar
Murray, L., Stanley, C., Hooper, R., King, F. & Fiori-Cowley, A. (1996). The role of infant factors in postnatal depression and mother-infant interactions. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (in the press).Google Scholar
O'Hara, M. W., Neunaber, D. J. & Zekoski, E. M. (1984). A prospective study of postpartum depression: prevalence, course and predictive factors. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 93, 158–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Hara, M., Zekoski, E. M., Phillips, L. H. & Wright, E. J. (1990). Controlled prospective study of postpartum mood disorders: comparison of childbearing and non-childbearing women. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 99, 3–15.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., Gibbon, M. & First, M. B. (1990). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. American Psychiatric Press: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Watson, J. P., Elliott, 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed