title: Acculturation and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms among Hispanic Women in the United States: Systematic Review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this review was to evaluate studies that examined the relationship between acculturation and postpartum depression (PPD) among immigrant and/or refugee women in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic, computer-assisted search of quantitative, English-language, peer-reviewed, published research articles was conducted in the Scopus, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Maternity and Infant Care databases using the keyword terms of "postpartum depression" and "perinatal depression" in combination with "acculturation." Studies were included if they were conducted in the United States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven studies met inclusion criteria. Three studies used longitudinal designs and four used cross-sectional designs. All were conducted with Hispanic women. Only one study used a diagnostic tool to measure PPD; the remaining studies used screening tools to measure postpartum depressive symptoms. Most studies used country of birth, country of residence, and language preferences to measure acculturation. Five studies reported acculturation was positively related to risk of postpartum depressive symptoms, and two studies reported no relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher levels of acculturation were related to higher risk of postpartum depressive symptoms in Hispanic women living in the United States. Nurses should have an understanding of stressors of immigrant women to guide their assessment and screening for postpartum depressive symptoms and make appropriate referrals. More research is needed to confirm the relationship between acculturation and PPD among immigrant women from different cultural backgrounds.
authors.affiliation: Dalia Alhasanat is a PhD student at College of Nursing, Wayne State University, College of Nursing, Detroit, MI. The author can be reached via e-mail at et1927@wayne.edu Carmen Giurgescu is an Assistant Professor at College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
authors.forename: Dalia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alhasanat
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giurgescu
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000453:epidemiology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology