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Negative thoughts after childbirth: development and preliminary validation of a self‐report scale
Author(s) -
Hall Pauline L.,
Papageorgiou Costas
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.20119
Subject(s) - psychology , clinical psychology , cognition , conceptualization , scale (ratio) , metacognition , developmental psychology , childbirth , psychiatry , pregnancy , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , biology , computer science , genetics
Abstract This study describes the development and initial validation of a questionnaire that is suitable for detecting and measuring postpartum negative thoughts. Semistructured interviews with mothers who had suffered from postnatal depression were conducted to inform the content of the questionnaire. The initial questionnaire, alongside other measures, was then administered to a nonclinical sample of mothers with babies aged 0–7 months. Using principal components analysis, a two‐factor structure was obtained for the Postnatal Negative Thoughts Questionnaire (PNTQ). The factors included appraisal of cognition, emotion, and situation (ACES) and baby‐related and motherhood negative thoughts (BRM‐NT). The psychometric properties demonstrated acceptable validity, satisfactory test–retest reliability, and internal consistency. These findings suggest that the PNTQ is a reliable and valid measure for assessing postpartum negative thoughts. Consistent with previous research, findings also suggest that appraisal of negative thoughts is more strongly related to postpartum depression than to the experience of negative thoughts per se. Clinicians may use the PNTQ to offer new mothers the opportunity to assess whether negative thoughts or metacognitive appraisals are being experienced as problematic. Additionally, a direct focus upon the metacognitive appraisals of postpartum negative thoughts may provide a useful adjunct to traditional cognitive therapy approaches. Recommendations for future research are discussed. Depression and Anxiety 22:121–129, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.