Other Titles
Psychometric Properties of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire in Male Partners [Title Slide]
Abstract
Background: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are widely used to measure perinatal depression, which can negatively affect children's emotional, behavioral, and developmental well-being (Niel & Payne, 2020; Ashraf et al., 2023). Male partners in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are at higher risk for perinatal depression but remain significantly underrepresented in research (Rao et al., 2020). No studies have explored the factor structure of the EPDS and PHQ-9 for male partners in LMIC. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EPDS and PHQ-9 for male partners during the antenatal period in Pakistan. This is the first study to examine the factor structure of PHQ-9 on partners in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods :Total of 206 male partners of primiparous women in their first and second trimesters were recruited from an outpatient clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Partners completed the PHQ-9 and EPDS tools. An unrestricted exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis and varimax rotation was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the screening tools.
Result: The mean age of the male partners was 30 years, and there was ethnic diversity within the sample. The majority of the partners had a graduate level of education. A three-factor structure and a two-factor structure were recommended for the EPDS and PHQ-9. Acceptable reliability was attained for overall EPDS (α = 0.80) and PHQ-9 (α 0.79) scales
Conclusion:Both the EPDS and PHQ-9 demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties for assessing depressive symptoms in male partners in Pakistan. Given these findings, nurses may consider integrating the assessment of partners' depressive symptoms during the initial antenatal clinic visit, enabling early identification and referral to appropriate resources for support and intervention.
Notes
References:
Ashraf, S., Shah, K., Vadukapuram, R., Shah, B., Jaiswal, S., Mansuri, Z., & Jain, S. (2023). Impact of Paternal Depression on Child Neurodevelopmental Outcomes and Disorders. The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 25(1), 22r03303. https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.22r03303
Loscalzo, Y., Giannini, M., Contena, B., Gori, A., & Benvenuti, P. (2015). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for Fathers: A contribution to the validation for an Italian sample. General Hospital Psychiatry, 37(3), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2015.02.002
Massoudi, P., Hwang, C. P., & Wickberg, B. (2013). How well does the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale identify depression and anxiety in fathers? A validation study in a population based Swedish sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 149(1), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.005
Niel, M. S. V., & Payne, J. L. (2020). Perinatal depression: A review. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 87(5), 273–277. https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.87a.19054
Rao, W.-W., Zhu, X.-M., Zong, Q.-Q., Zhang, Q., Hall, B. J., Ungvari, G. S., & Xiang, Y.-T. (2020). Prevalence of prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers: A comprehensive meta-analysis of observational surveys. Journal of Affective Disorders, 263, 491–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.10.030
Sigma Membership
Rho Delta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Public and Community Health, Primary Care, Pakistan
Recommended Citation
Sulaiman, Salima; Yim, Ilona S.; and Dosani, Aliyah, "Psychometric Properties of EPDS and PHQ-9 Tools for Partners of Pregnant Women in Karachi, Pakistan" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 85.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/85
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
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All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Psychometric Properties of EPDS and PHQ-9 Tools for Partners of Pregnant Women in Karachi, Pakistan
Seattle, Washington, USA
Background: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are widely used to measure perinatal depression, which can negatively affect children's emotional, behavioral, and developmental well-being (Niel & Payne, 2020; Ashraf et al., 2023). Male partners in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are at higher risk for perinatal depression but remain significantly underrepresented in research (Rao et al., 2020). No studies have explored the factor structure of the EPDS and PHQ-9 for male partners in LMIC. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EPDS and PHQ-9 for male partners during the antenatal period in Pakistan. This is the first study to examine the factor structure of PHQ-9 on partners in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods :Total of 206 male partners of primiparous women in their first and second trimesters were recruited from an outpatient clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Partners completed the PHQ-9 and EPDS tools. An unrestricted exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis and varimax rotation was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the screening tools.
Result: The mean age of the male partners was 30 years, and there was ethnic diversity within the sample. The majority of the partners had a graduate level of education. A three-factor structure and a two-factor structure were recommended for the EPDS and PHQ-9. Acceptable reliability was attained for overall EPDS (α = 0.80) and PHQ-9 (α 0.79) scales
Conclusion:Both the EPDS and PHQ-9 demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties for assessing depressive symptoms in male partners in Pakistan. Given these findings, nurses may consider integrating the assessment of partners' depressive symptoms during the initial antenatal clinic visit, enabling early identification and referral to appropriate resources for support and intervention.
Description
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are commonly used to assess depressive symptoms, but their psychometric properties for partners are underexplored. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EPDS and PHQ-9 among partners of pregnant women in Karachi, Pakistan. 206 partners completed both tools. The EPDS demonstrated a three-factor structure, while the PHQ-9 showed a two-factor structure, with acceptable reliability.