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Screening for postpartum depression: A methodological note
Author(s) -
Whiffen Valerie E.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(198805)44:3<367::aid-jclp2270440309>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - postpartum depression , beck depression inventory , depression (economics) , psychology , medical diagnosis , clinical psychology , postpartum period , psychiatry , pregnancy , medicine , anxiety , genetics , macroeconomics , pathology , economics , biology
This research evaluated the convergence of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) classifications with Research Diagnostic Criteria diagnoses of depression in a sample of postpartum women ( N = 120). The BDI demonstrated good specificity, but poor sensitivity; it detected fewer than half of the diagnosed cases. This finding was attributed to the high rate of minor depression found among postpartum women, to which the BDI is particularly insensitive. Results indicate that the BDI is not a satisfactory screening instrument in postpartum depression research.