In comparison to the vast literature on postnatal depression, there exists a paucity of
studies that examine anxiety and stress in postnatal populations. This thesis drew from
the cognitive vulnerability-stress theories of depression, anxiety, and stress to form its
theoretical basis. The underlying premise was that stressful life events have the
potential to interact with cognitive vulnerability or characteristic ways of thinking to
result in distress for some individuals. New motherhood was therefore conceptualized
as a life event that can trigger not only depression, but anxiety and stress in vulnerable
women. A major aim of this thesis was to assess the prevalence of postnatal distress
using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Depression Anxiety
Stress Scales (DASS-21). The sample comprised 325 primiparous mothers who ranged
in age from 18 to 44 years (M=32 years), whose babies were aged between 6 weeks and
6 months. Women were recruited through mother's groups and health centres in
Melbourne.
Results revealed that over and above the 61 women (19%) who were classified
by the DASS-21 as depressed, a further 33 women (10%) showed symptoms of anxiety
or stress without depression. This finding supports the assertions that postnatal women
need to be assessed for broader indicators of psychological morbidity than that of
depression alone. Moreover, 7% of the sample were both anxious and depressed, and
had significantly higher mean scores on the EPDS and DASS-depression scales than
their depressed-only counterparts. This sub-group also had significantly lower levels of
maternal role satisfaction and general life satisfaction than depressed-only women.
Other significant findings in relation to the anxious-depressed sub-group, point to the
importance of assessing the comorbidity of anxious and depressive symtomatology, and
of recognizing the extent to which these women may be at heightened risk compared to
depressed-only women.
This thesis adapted the biopsychosocial model of postnatal depression proposed
by Milgrom, Martin, and Negri (1999) as a research framework for examining a number
of unique predictors of postnatal distress. Drawing from an extensive literature on
control, two control-related scales were developed (the Perception of Control and Order
Scale, and the General Desire for Control and Order Scale). These scales, along with
several other cognitive measures, were found to significantly differ in ratings between
distressed and non-distressed women. The findings substantiated a role for both controlIII
related perceptions (perceptions of control and order, self-efficacy, and perceived
control of internal states) and individual characteristics (perfectionism and fear of
negative evaluation) in the postpartum. In a final analysis of the cognitive
vulnerability-stress model, factors that remained significant that made a unique
contribution to the postnatal literature were perceptions of control and order, perceived
control of internal states, fear of negative evaluation, and perceived criticism/judgement
from women's mothers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216660 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Miller, Renee, n/a |
| Publisher | Swinburne University of Technology. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.swin.edu.au/), Copyright Renee Miller |
Page generated in 0.0014 seconds