Identifying mothers at risk for postnatal emotional distress: further evidence for the validity of the perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the construct validity of the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire.


METHODS
Using a convergent/divergent validity design and two data sources (traditional survey and World Wide Web), 121 high-risk and 52 low-risk mothers answered four questionnaires.


RESULTS
High-risk mothers scored higher than low-risk mothers on all measures of emotional distress. There were significant positive correlations among the convergent measures of emotional distress, which were significantly larger than any correlation of the divergent measure with a convergent measure. Scores on the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire were positively related to mothers seeking formal psychotherapy for their childbirth experiences. Questionnaire responses were not related to data source.


CONCLUSIONS
The Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire is a useful tool for identifying significant emotional distress in mothers during the postnatal period.
Callahan
Jennifer L
JL
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA.
Hynan
Michael T
MT
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008423:Maternal Age; D011336:Probability; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires