Edinburgh
Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) assesses an individual’s depression and
anxiety symptoms over the past 7 days, including negative mood, decreased
positive affect and engagement, suicidal ideation, fearfulness, anxious misery,
and feeling overwhelmed (Cox et al., 1996; Cox
& Holden, 2003; Cox et al., 1987).
The
EPDS was developed for evaluating postpartum depression and remains a tool for
evaluating maternal depression in the perinatal time period.
This
10-item measure uses 4-point Likert response scales with anchors representing a
lack of item endorsement (e.g., Not at all; Never) and a high level of item
endorsement (e.g., Yes, very often; Yes, most of the time). A raw score of 10
indicates moderate levels of depression and a score of 13 or higher represents
“probable depression,” with diagnostic follow-up recommended.
For details, see Blackwell et al (Accepted), Developing a common metric for depression across adulthood: Linking PROMIS Depression with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Psychological Assessment.