The relationships among postpartum depression, dysfunctional attitudes and automatic thoughts

Abstract

Objective To study the relationships among postpartum depression, dysfunctional attitudes and automatic thoughts. Methods 274 cases of postpartum women were estimated at fifth or sixth week after delivery by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS), Dysfunctional Attitudes Scales(DAS), Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire(ATQ) and some other forms designed by ourselves. Results ①The prevalence of postpartum depression was 18.20%.②The impact of culture degree on postpartum depression was statistically significant(χ2=12.37, P<0.05). ③Compared with normal subjects, the postpartum depression group had significantly higher total score of ATQ(48.98±12.35 vs 79.29±23.90), total scores of DAS(118.92±20.03 vs 148.03±28.47), attraction or repulsion(13.82±4.33 vs 18.01±6.38), perfection(14.53±5.91 vs 19.21±5.23), compulsion(13.09±3.61 vs 19.36±4.98), seeking applause(14.97±4.06 vs 18.78±5.59), dependence(14.30±4.12 vs 19.23±5.43), autonomous attitude(16.54±3.67 vs 21.51±4.81), cognition philosophy(12.32±3.79 vs 18.16±3.43) , the difference was all statistically significant (P<0.01). ④There was a significant positive correlation in postpartum depression and total scores of ATQ, total scores of DAS, attraction or repulsion, perfection, compulsion, seeking applause, dependence, cognition philosophy(the Pearson correlation was respectively: 0.658, 0.432, 0.187, 0.432, 0.481, 0.304, 0.458, 0.459, P<0.01). ⑤Through stepwise regression analysis, automatic thoughts, cognition philosophy, compulsion, perfection and dysfunctional attitudes might play considerable role to predict the occurrence of postpartum depression. Conclusion Automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitudes can predict postpartum depression to some extent. Key words: Postpartum depression; Dysfunctional attitudes; Automatic thoughts