The retrospective diagnosis of postnatal depression by questionnaire.
The Bromley postnatal depression scale is a new screening instrument specifically developed for detecting the presence of both current and previous episodes of postnatal depression. The scale gives a brief description of postnatal depression and respondents are asked to decide whether or not they had experienced such an illness following childbirth. The scale has satisfactory test-retest reliability and a Cohen's Kappa of 0.80 for previous postnatal depressive episodes. Using another scale which measures DSM.III major depression, the Bromley scale has a sensitivity of 62% and a specificity of 94%. The principle advantages of this method are that it provides information about previous postnatal periods and so provides longitudinal information and the method can be also used in postal surveys.
Stein
G
G
King's College Hospital, Orpington, Kent, U.K.
Van den Akker
O
O
D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies