The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: validation for an Italian sample

A sample of 113 women has been recruited for the Italian validation of Edinburgh Post Natal Depression Scale (EPDS). These women, between the eighth and the twelfth week after delivery, were admnistered the EPDS and diagnosed according the DSM-III-R criteria using the MINI Interview. At the 8/9 cut-off score the sensitivity is 94.4%, specificity 87.4% and, PPV 58.6%. The internal consistency of the EPDS Italian version was tested using Chronbach's alpha coefficient (0.7894) and Guttman split-half coefficient (0.8191). Finally a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out to evaluate the global functioning of the scale: the area under ROC curve AUC is 0.7470 and the logistic estimate for the threshold score of 11/12 fitted the model sensitivity at 75% and model specificity at 67%. Our data confirm the validity of EPDS in identifying postnatal depression also in its Italian version and the scale could be used as an useful instrument in the clinical practice. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.