Identifying mothers at risk for postnatal emotional distress: further evidence for the validity of the perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder questionnaire

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated the construct validity of the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire.

Study design: 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.

Conclusion: The Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire is a useful tool for identifying significant emotional distress in mothers during the postnatal period.