Psychological distress one year after childbirth: a cross-cultural comparison between France, Italy and Quebec.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare rates of psychological distress, one year after childbirth, between women living in France, Italy and Quebec (Canada). Analysis was performed for a sample of 1663 mothers of one-year-old children. Psychological distress rates, measured by the General Health Questionnaire and a measure of psychotropic drug use, were compared in bivariate and multivariate analysis. According to the GHQ scores, the psychological distress rate was significantly higher in Quebec (16% scoring over 5) than in France (11%) and Italy (9%). Differences between countries were most marked for women with a low level of education, who were more distressed in Quebec than elsewhere. However, psychotropic drug use was significantly more common in France than in Italy and Quebec. When the two indicators of psychological distress were combined (high GHQ score or use of psychotropic drugs), France and Quebec presented similar distress rates, both significantly different from Italy. Differences in the expression of distress may partly account for the observed differences in distress rate between countries. However, the social structure of each country probably plays a role in the development of psychological distress, possibly leading to differences in distress rate between countries.