The Psychometric Properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 for Pregnant Women

María de la Fe Rodríguez-Muñoz, Natalia Ruiz-Segovia, Cristina Soto-Balbuena, Huynh-Nhu Le, María Eugenia Olivares-Crespo and Nuria Izquierdo-Méndez
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María de la Fe Rodríguez-Muñoz: Department of Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Natalia Ruiz-Segovia: Department of Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
Cristina Soto-Balbuena: Deparment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, 33011 Oviedo, Spain
Huynh-Nhu Le: Department of Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
María Eugenia Olivares-Crespo: Deparment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Instituto de Salud de la Mujer José Botella Llusiá, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Faculty of Medicine Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Nuria Izquierdo-Méndez: Deparment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Instituto de Salud de la Mujer José Botella Llusiá, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Faculty of Medicine Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Perinatal anxiety and depression are common complications during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to examine the item characteristics, reliability, validity, and factorial structure of the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) and to determine the associations between scale scores and sociodemographic factors in a sample of pregnant women from Spain. Method: A total of 845 pregnant women were recruited from two public hospitals in Spain between 2014 and 2016. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire that included Patient Health Questionnaire-4, including the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire and the two-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and scale inter-correlations between the PHQ-4 and PHQ-9 revealed that the PHQ-4 has a bivariate structure and adequately assesses the dimensions of antenatal anxiety and depression. Conclusion : The PHQ-4 is a reliable and valid instrument to screen for depression and anxiety during pregnancy. The PHQ-4 is an ultra-brief measure that can be used to screen for antenatal depression and anxiety to prevent the negative consequences associated with these mental health conditions among mothers and infants.

Keywords: depression; anxiety; pregnancy; PHQ-4; assessment tools (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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