Thirty‐eight mothers with postnatal depression (PND) and their spouses were assessed 3, 6 and 12 months after the birth of their infant on the Parenting Stress Index. Compared to 46 non‐depressed controls, PND mothers rated their child as less reinforcing, less acceptable, less adaptable, more moody and more demanding. They rated themselves as less competent, less emotionally attached to the child, less healthy, more depressed and more socially isolated, with a poor relationship with their spouse and a more restricted lifestyle. These differences persisted over the 3–12‐month period, even though the level of depression decreased. Partners of PND mothers also rated themselves, their marital relationship and their child more negatively than controls, and difficulties became more pronounced with time. Results were paralleled by the Profile of Moods Scale scores and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, which showed less consensus, less expression of affection, less satisfaction and less cohesion for PND compared to control couples. These findings suggest that the difficulties experienced are long lasting, with some deterioration over time. This was reflected by a higher separation/divorce rate in PND couples. The importance of early intervention and the impact on parent–infant attachment is discussed.
Summary
It is common in the medical, biological, and social sciences for the categories into which an object is classified not to have a fully objective definition. Theoretically speaking the categories are therefore not completely distinguishable. The practical extent of their distinguishability can be measured when two expert observers classify the same sample of objects. It is shown, under reasonable assumptions, that the matrix of joint classification probabilities is quasi‐symmetric, and that the symmetric matrix component is non‐negative definite. The degree of distinguishability between two categories is defined and is used to give a measure of overall category distinguishability. It is argued that the kappa measure of observer agreement is unsatisfactory as a measure of overall category distinguishability.
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