Introduction
Postnatal depression (or also known as postpartum depression, PPD) is a type of depression following childbirth.
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a well known short questionnaire used to check if a mother might suffer from PPD.
| The EPDS has its own informative Wikipedia website. |
| UK National Health Service (NHS) information about postnatal depression. For an NHS Choices video about PPD click here. |
A score above 13 is taken as an indication that a mother is suffering from a depressive illness of varying severity. Obviously, the score on the test cannot be used as a clinical judgment! If you are concerned, you need to see a health care specialist.
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Legal stuff
The scale can be used for study and research, but you need to acknowledge the authors and their research paper when writing about it (see references).
Technically
There are 10 Likert-scale items, but they are all described slightly differently, and that is why the scale item has not been used.
The survey code for PsyToolkit
l: epds1
t: radio
q: Note, all questions in this questionnaire are about how you felt <b>in the past 7 days.</b><br><br>
I have been able to laugh and see the funny side of things
- {score=0} As much as I always could
- {score=1} Not quite so much now
- {score=2} Definitely not so much now
- {score=3} Not at all
l: epds2
t: radio
q: I have looked forward with enjoyment to things
- {score=0} As much as I ever did
- {score=1} Rather less than I used to
- {score=2} Definitely less than I used to
- {score=3} Hardly at all
l: epds3
t: radio
q: I have blamed myself unnecessarily when things went wrong
- {score=3} Yes, most of the time
- {score=2} Yes, some of the time
- {score=1} Not very often
- {score=0} No, never
l: epds4
t: radio
q: I have been anxious or worried for no good reason
- {score=0} No, not at all
- {score=1} Hardly ever
- {score=2} Yes, sometimes
- {score=3} Yes, very often
l: epds5
t: radio
q: I have felt scared or panicky for no very good reason
- {score=3} Yes, quite a lot
- {score=2} Yes, sometimes
- {score=1} No, not much
- {score=0} No, not at all
l: epds6
t: radio
q: Things have been getting on top of me
- {score=3} Yes, most of the time I haven’t been able to cope at all
- {score=2} Yes, sometimes I haven’t been coping as well as usual
- {score=1} No, most of the time I have coped quite well
- {score=0} No, I have been coping as well as ever
l: epds7
t: radio
q: I have been so unhappy that I have had difficulty sleeping
- {score=3} Yes, most of the time
- {score=2} Yes, sometimes
- {score=1} Not very often
- {score=0} No, not at all
l: epds8
t: radio
q: I have felt sad or miserable
- {score=3} Yes, most of the time
- {score=2} Yes, quite often
- {score=1} Not very often
- {score=0} No, not at all
l: epds9
t: radio
q: I have been so unhappy that I have been crying
- {score=3} Yes, most of the time
- {score=2} Yes, quite often
- {score=1} Only occasionally
- {score=0} No, never
l: epds10
t: radio
q: The thought of harming myself has occurred to me
- {score=3} Yes, quite often
- {score=2} Sometimes
- {score=1} Hardly ever
- {score=0} Never
l: score
t: set
- sum $epds*
l: feedback
t: info
q: Scores on the EPDS can range from 0 to 30.<br><br>
<b>Your score is {$score}.</b><br>
A score of 14 or higher can be considered a sign of postnatal depression.<br>
Check the PsyToolkit survey library for tips where to find help.
References
-
Cox, J.L., Holden, J.M., and Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 782-786.