Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
<strong>Background</strong> Identifying women with perinatal anxiety is important in order to provide timely support and prevent adverse outcomes. Self-report instruments are commonly used in maternity settings. An alternative is to ask women directly whether they self-identify as having...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BioMed Central
2022
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| _version_ | 1826307338932322304 |
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| author | Fellmeth, G Harrison, S McNeill, J Lynn, F Redshaw, M Alderdice, F |
| author_facet | Fellmeth, G Harrison, S McNeill, J Lynn, F Redshaw, M Alderdice, F |
| author_sort | Fellmeth, G |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <strong>Background</strong>
Identifying women with perinatal anxiety is important in order to provide timely support and prevent adverse outcomes. Self-report instruments are commonly used in maternity settings. An alternative is to ask women directly whether they self-identify as having anxiety. We examine the agreement between self-reported and self-identified anxiety at 3 months postpartum and compare the characteristics of women with self-reported and self-identified anxiety.
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<strong>Methods</strong>
A secondary analysis of national maternity surveys conducted in 2014 in England and Northern Ireland was conducted. Self-reported anxiety was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale anxiety subscale (EPDS-3A). Agreement between self-reported and self-identified anxiety was measured using Cohen’s kappa. Logistic regression was used to identify characteristics of women in each group.
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<strong>Results</strong>
In our sample of 6752 women, 14.2% had self-reported anxiety, 5.9% had self-identified anxiety and 3.5% were positive on both measures. Among those with self-identified anxiety, 58.1% also had self-reported anxiety. Of those with self-reported anxiety, 24.4% also had self-identified anxiety. Statistical agreement between the two measures was minimal with Cohen’s kappa 0.283 at an EPDS-3A threshold of ≥6. Among both self-identified and self-reported anxiety groups, psychological factors were the strongest associated factors. Women with self-reported anxiety had higher odds of being from Northern Ireland (OR 1.81); having a mixed or unhappy reaction to the pregnancy (OR 1.65); living without a partner (aOR 1.37); and antenatal depression (aOR 1.32). Women with self-identified anxiety had higher odds of physical problems (OR 1.84); and being of Black or minority ethnicity (OR 0.39).
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<strong>Conclusions</strong>
Asking postnatal women directly whether they self-identify as having anxiety identifies a different group of women from those who score highly on self-report measures. Women with self-identified anxiety may benefit from further follow-up and support. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:01:45Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:cb0acd1c-8baf-46fd-b01e-7fed19695a49 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:01:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:cb0acd1c-8baf-46fd-b01e-7fed19695a492022-03-28T13:10:44ZIdentifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression ScaleJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:cb0acd1c-8baf-46fd-b01e-7fed19695a49EnglishSymplectic ElementsBioMed Central2022Fellmeth, GHarrison, SMcNeill, JLynn, FRedshaw, MAlderdice, F<strong>Background</strong> Identifying women with perinatal anxiety is important in order to provide timely support and prevent adverse outcomes. Self-report instruments are commonly used in maternity settings. An alternative is to ask women directly whether they self-identify as having anxiety. We examine the agreement between self-reported and self-identified anxiety at 3 months postpartum and compare the characteristics of women with self-reported and self-identified anxiety. <br> <strong>Methods</strong> A secondary analysis of national maternity surveys conducted in 2014 in England and Northern Ireland was conducted. Self-reported anxiety was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale anxiety subscale (EPDS-3A). Agreement between self-reported and self-identified anxiety was measured using Cohen’s kappa. Logistic regression was used to identify characteristics of women in each group. <br> <strong>Results</strong> In our sample of 6752 women, 14.2% had self-reported anxiety, 5.9% had self-identified anxiety and 3.5% were positive on both measures. Among those with self-identified anxiety, 58.1% also had self-reported anxiety. Of those with self-reported anxiety, 24.4% also had self-identified anxiety. Statistical agreement between the two measures was minimal with Cohen’s kappa 0.283 at an EPDS-3A threshold of ≥6. Among both self-identified and self-reported anxiety groups, psychological factors were the strongest associated factors. Women with self-reported anxiety had higher odds of being from Northern Ireland (OR 1.81); having a mixed or unhappy reaction to the pregnancy (OR 1.65); living without a partner (aOR 1.37); and antenatal depression (aOR 1.32). Women with self-identified anxiety had higher odds of physical problems (OR 1.84); and being of Black or minority ethnicity (OR 0.39). <br> <strong>Conclusions</strong> Asking postnatal women directly whether they self-identify as having anxiety identifies a different group of women from those who score highly on self-report measures. Women with self-identified anxiety may benefit from further follow-up and support. |
| spellingShingle | Fellmeth, G Harrison, S McNeill, J Lynn, F Redshaw, M Alderdice, F Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale |
| title | Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale |
| title_full | Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale |
| title_fullStr | Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale |
| title_short | Identifying postnatal anxiety: comparison of self-identified and self-reported anxiety using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale |
| title_sort | identifying postnatal anxiety comparison of self identified and self reported anxiety using the edinburgh postnatal depression scale |
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