Abstract
BackgroundTo date, there is a significant lack of research validating clinical tools for early and accurate detection of anxiety disorders in perinatal populations. Intolerance of uncertainty was recently identified as a significant risk factor for postpartum anxiety symptoms and is a key trait of non-perinatal anxiety disorders. The present study aimed to validate the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS) in a perinatal population and evaluate its use as a screening tool for anxiety disorders.MethodsPsychiatric diagnoses were assessed in a sample of perinatal women (n = 198), in addition to completing a self-report battery of questionnaires. Psychometric properties including internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity were assessed. Determination of an optimal clinical cut-off score was measured through a ROC analysis in which the area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity, as well as positive and negative predictive values were calculated.ResultsThe IUS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.95) and an optimal clinical cut-off score of 64 or greater was established, yielding a sensitivity of 89%. The IUS also demonstrated very good positive (79%) and negative (80%) predictive values.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the IUS represents a clinically useful screening tool to be used as an aid for the early and accurate detection of perinatal anxiety.
Highlights
To date, there is a significant lack of research validating clinical tools for early and accurate detection of anxiety disorders in perinatal populations
Perinatal mental health research has focused on postpartum depression (PPD) which affects as many as 12% of women [6], there has been increasing awareness that the perinatal period is associated with high risk for anxiety disorders
Of the 80 participants without a primary anxiety disorder, 51.2% did not meet criteria for any lifetime psychiatric disorders, 22.5% had past Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), while 5% had current MDD
Summary
There is a significant lack of research validating clinical tools for early and accurate detection of anxiety disorders in perinatal populations. Intolerance of uncertainty was recently identified as a significant risk factor for postpartum anxiety symptoms and is a key trait of non-perinatal anxiety disorders. The present study aimed to validate the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS) in a perinatal population and evaluate its use as a screening tool for anxiety disorders. Perinatal mental health research has focused on postpartum depression (PPD) which affects as many as 12% of women [6], there has been increasing awareness that the perinatal period is associated with high risk for anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders during the perinatal period have been shown to be more prevalent than PPD, with rates between 15–24% [7]. Women with perinatal anxiety utilize greater health resources, such as making more frequent visits to their obstetrician [12, 13]
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