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.