Thirty years with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: voices from the past and recommendations for the future
Open accessAbstract
Summary: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was published over 30 years ago as a ten-item self-report questionnaire to facilitate the detection of perinatal depression – and for use in research. It is widely used at the present time in many regions of the world and has been translated into over 60 languages. It is occasionally misused. In this editorial, updated recommendations for optimal use in primary and secondary care as well as research are provided. Future studies to evaluate its use and validity in naturalistic community populations are now required, and to determine the psychometric properties and practical usefulness of the EPDS when completed online. Declaration of interest: J.C. has no financial interest in the use of, or reproduction of, the EPDS.
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John Cox recommended that organizations such as the Marcé Scientific Society or Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health create forums for thinking about new scale development.
“Such an innovation would also be in keeping with John Cox’s recommendation that organizations such as the Marcé Scientific Society or Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health create forums for thinking about new scale development (56).”
From A critical need for the concept of matrescence in perinatal psychiatry (2024) · cites this paper as [56]
Cites
Detection of Postnatal Depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.150.6.782 · Cited by 14,183 · see citing works
Self-citationO’Connor, E., Rossom, R. C., Henninger, M., Groom, H. C., & Burda, B. U. (2016) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2015.18948 · Cited by 563 · see citing works
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Factors Influencing Paternal Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Wang, D., Li, Y.-L., Qiu, D., & Xiao, S.-Y. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.088 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Nath, S., Pearson, R. M., Moran, P., Pawlby, S., Molyneaux, E., Challacombe, F. L., & Howard, L. M. (2019) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.102148 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“The EPDS has been validated in 20 languages and different socioeconomic groups (Cox, 2019; Gelaye, Rondon, Araya, & Williams, 2016; Hanusa, Scholle, Haskett, Spadaro, & Wisner, 2008).”
MethodA critical need for the concept of matrescence in perinatal psychiatry
Athan, A. M. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1364845 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cox, J.
- Affiliations
- Keele University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cox, John
- Venue
- The British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2019-02-18
- Volume
- 214
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 127-129
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2917829852
- Cited by
- 150
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 2
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, perinatal depression, postpartum depression screening, self-report questionnaire, psychometric properties, online surveys, primary care, secondary care, research recommendations
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Mass Screening, Pregnancy, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Depression, Postpartum, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century
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