The Validation of the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale on a Community Sample

AimsTo examine the relationship between specific reasons for stopping breastfeeding and depressive symptoms in the postnatal period.BackgroundDifficulty breastfeeding has been connected to postnatal depression although it is unclear whether difficulty breastfeeding precedes or succeeds a diagnosis. However, the concept of ‘breastfeeding difficulty’ is wide and includes biological, psychological and social factors.DesignA cross‐sectional self‐report survey.MethodsData were collected between December 2012 and February 2013. 217 women with an infant aged 0‐6 months who had started breastfeeding at birth but had stopped before 6 months old completed a questionnaire examining breastfeeding duration and reasons for stopping breastfeeding. They further completed a copy of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.ResultsA short breastfeeding duration and multiple reasons for stopping breastfeeding were associated with higher depression score. However, in a regression analysis only the specific reasons of stopping breastfeeding for physical difficulty and pain remained predictive of depression score.ConclusionsUnderstanding women's specific reasons for stopping breastfeeding rather than breastfeeding duration is critical in understanding women's breastfeeding experience and providing women with emotional support. Issues with pain and physical breastfeeding were most indicative of postnatal depression in comparison to psychosocial reasons highlighting the importance of spending time with new mothers to help them with issues such as latch.

General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.-Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research -You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain -You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. AbstractThe incremental validity of repeated measurements of a short depression questionnaire was examined regarding the clinical diagnosis of depression. Participants were 951 randomly selected women of around menopausal age. They completed the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) at two time points, with approximately 18 months in between. At the second time point, they participated in a structured clinical interview for depression diagnosis based on the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC). With repeated assessments, specificity and negative predictive value (NPV) did not change much relative to a single assessment, with a specificity of 95.0% and a NPV of 91.7% at a cut-off score of 12 on the EDS. As expected, sensitivity dropped, from 87.9% to 58.8%. However, positive predictive value (PPV) increased from 42.0% to 49.1% at a cut-off of 12. When using a cutoff score of 15 on the EDS, the PPV based on both EDS measurements reached 61.8%, yielding a 25-fold probability of being a case for women scoring above 15 at both time points (OR = 24.54, 95% CI = 14.24 -42.28). In conclusion, the 10-item EDS is a reliable, valid and valuable screening instrument. When employed repeatedly, a more stable depression may be tapped, which can be of substantial value for both epidemiological research and clinical practice.

BackgroundThe authors tested three possible pathways linking prenatal maternal depressive symptoms to adolescent depressive symptoms. These pathways went through childhood Irritability Symptoms, Anxiety/Depressive Symptoms or Conduct Problems.MethodData were collected from 3,963 mother–child pairs participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Measures include maternal depressive symptoms (pre‐ and postnatal); toddler temperament (2 years); childhood (7–13 years) irritability symptoms, anxiety/depressive symptoms, conduct problems, and adolescent depressive symptoms (16 years).Results Irritability Symptoms: This pathway linked sequentially – prenatal maternal depressive symptoms, toddler temperament (high perceived intensity and low perceived adaptability), childhood irritability symptoms, and adolescent depressive symptoms. Anxiety/Depressive symptoms: This pathway linked sequentially – prenatal maternal depressive symptoms, toddler temperament (negative perceived mood), childhood anxiety/depressive symptoms, and adolescent depressive symptoms. Childhood conduct problems were not associated with adolescent depressive symptoms, above and beyond irritability symptoms and anxiety/depressive symptoms.ConclusionsResults suggest evidence for two distinct developmental pathways to adolescent depressive symptoms that involve specific early and midchildhood features.