Postpartum Depression Screening Scale Short Form: Is it possible to use it for antenatal depression?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain the construct validity of the short form of the Postpartum Depression Scale (PDSS-SF) for screening antenatal depression symptoms by means of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) as a gold standard. The sample consisted of 449 pregnant women recruited in the Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain. A ROC analysis was used. The results show the the area under the ROC curve for minor, moderate, and severe depression was .86, p < .001, .95, p < .001, and .99, p < .001, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were .70 and .81 for minor depression, with 11 as a cutoff score, .85 and .88 for moderate depression, with 14 as a cutoff score, and 1 and .99, with 23 as a cutoff score for severe depression. The results of the PDSS-SF provide a good internal consistency, significant validity and reliability, and showed satisfactory combinations of sensitivity and specificity. The PDSS-SF is an accurate tool to evaluate antenatal depression.