Screening of psychiatric disorders in women with high-risk pregnancy: Accuracy of three psychological tools

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the optimal cutoff points of three psychological tools for screening psychiatric disorders in women with high-risk pregnancy. Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional study (N = 155), sensitivity/specificity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Brief Symptom Inventory 53-items (BSI-53), and the BSI-18 were computed with respect to having a psychiatric diagnosis based on the clinical interview. Results: The usual cutoffs (≥13 for EPDS, T-score of 63 for BSI-53) demonstrated poor diagnostic accuracy. The optimal thresholds were computed for EPDS cutoff of 6.5, GSI = 0.47 for BSI-53, and GSI = 0.5 for BSI-18. Practice Implications: The use of psychological tools among pregnant women with high-risk pregnancy may need to be modified in order to accurately identify psychiatric disorders.