2002 International International Biennial Scientific Meeting

COGNITIVE MEASURES OF POSTNATAL DEPRESSION IN AN AUSTRALIAN SAMPLE: FURTHER VALIDATION OF THE MATERNAL ATTITUDES QUESTIONNAIRE

Nicole Church*, Claire Lamplugh**, Paul Martin* and Donna Rose**

* Department of Psychology, University of New England, NSW
** Department of Psychological Medicine, Nepean Hospital Penrith

nchurch@metz.une.edu.au

The aim of this study was to conduct further research on the Maternal Attitudes Questionnaire (MAQ, Warner, Appleby, et al., 1997). The MAQ is a 14-item self-report instrument measuring cognitions relating to role change, expectations of motherhood, and expectations of the self as a mother (Warner et. al., 1997). We feel that the MAQ may be able to be used clinically to detect women who have developed dysfunctional attitudes towards their children or their role as a mother, however, the use of the measure is inhibited by its lack of validation in an Australian sample. This study seeks to validate the use of the MAQ as a preliminary indicator of difficulties adjusting to parenthood in an Australian sample of women who have recently given birth.

A community sample of 185 women who had recently given birth in Wentworth Area Health Service, NSW Australia, consented to participate in this study. Women were surveyed using the MAQ, in addition to a brief, well-validated measure of the symptoms of post-natal depression, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS). The DAS was developed to measure pervasive negative attitudes of depressed individuals towards the self, outside world and the future. The DAS was administered to provide an opportunity to appraise whether there was a relationship between general, negative cognitions and thoughts relating to the maternal care giving role. Women with postnatal concerns as measured by the EPDS (scores >10), were also invited to complete a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV disorders (SCID) to confirm a diagnosis of postnatal depression.

This study demonstrated a significant, positive association between the symptoms of depression, as measured by the EPDS and dysfunctional maternal cognitions identified by the MAQ. This presentation will detail the performance of the MAQ in the community sample and clinical sub-sample and will describe the clinical usefulness of the MAQ in populations making the transition to parenthood.