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Cited by 518Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychometric Methodologies and Testing

Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for men, and comparison of item endorsement with their partners

Matthey, Stephen, Barnett, Bryanne, Kavanagh, David J., Howie, Pauline·2001·Journal of Affective Disorders
DOI 10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00236-6
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Abstract

Background The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has been validated and used extensively in screening for depression in new mothers, both in English speaking and non-English speaking communities. While some studies have reported the use of the EPDS with fathers, none have validated it for this group, and thus the appropriate cut-off score for screening for depression or anxiety caseness for this population is not known.Methods Couples were recruited antenatally and interviewed at six weeks postpartum. EPDS scores and distress caseness (depression or anxiety disorders) for 208 fathers and 230 mothers were determined using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule.Results Analyses of the EPDS for fathers using distress caseness (depression or anxiety disorders) as the criterion shows that a cut-off of 5/6 has optimum receiver operating characteristics. Furthermore acceptable reliability (split-half and internal consistency) and validity (concurrent) coefficients were obtained. For mothers the optimum cut-off screening value to detect distress caseness was 7/8. Item analysis revealed that fathers endorsed seven of the ten items at lower rates to mothers, with the most significant being that referring to crying.Conclusions The EPDS is a reliable and valid measure of mood in fathers. Screening for depression or anxiety disorders in fathers requires a two point lower cut-off than screening for depression or anxiety in mothers, and we recommend this cut-off to be 5/6.

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Authors
Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Kavanagh, D. J., & Howie, P.
Affiliations
  • Sydney South West Area Health Service (AU)
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Matthey, Stephen
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Affective Disorders
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2001-05
Volume
64
Issue
2-3
Pages
175-184
ISSN
0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00236-6
OpenAlex
W2010925715
Cited by
516
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 21
FWCI
5.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
Keywords
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, paternal depression, postpartum depression screening, fathers, mothers, cut-off values, screening validity, screening reliability, couples, crying
MeSH terms
Culture, Depressive Disorder, Fathers, Female, Humans, Male, Mothers, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sensitivity and Specificity, Severity of Illness Index, Reproducibility of Results, Depression, Postpartum

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