Psychometric properties of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire - IV (GAD-Q-IV) in postpartum mothers.

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental disorder of which the main feature is persistent and impairing worry. GAD symptoms are common for women during the postpartum period and GAD prevalence rates have been reported as higher in postpartum mothers than in the general population. Currently, little psychometric evidence exists for a screening measure to detect the possible presence of diagnosable GAD for postpartum women. The purpose of this investigation was to gather psychometric information for the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire–IV (GAD-Q-IV; Newman et al., 2002) with a sample of postpartum mothers. Factor analyses were conducted to determine the factor structure of the GAD-Q-IV in postpartum women. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine a range of potential GAD-Q-IV cut-off scores for detecting the likely presence of GAD in postpartum women. Results from this study provided evidence to justify a 1-factor structure for the GAD-Q-IV responses from postpartum women, which demonstrated structural, metric, and scalar invariance over time. Findings from these analyses provided evidence of incremental validity, as there was a significant increase in predicting GAD diagnoses when GAD-Q-IV responses were used compared with another measure of postpartum depression. Last, using ROC analysis, a range of GAD-Q-IV cut-off scores was determined, which can be applied to screening for the likely presence or absence of GAD in postpartum women. The evidence presented in this study suggests that the GAD-Q-IV could be a viable screening measure used to identify the likely presence of GAD in postpartum women so that further evaluations and treatments can be recommended.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Web-Based Treatment with Telephone Support for Postpartum Women With Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The generalizability may also be affected by the fact that the anxiety status was established by a screening instrument and not by a diagnostic tool. However, the GAD-7 is a frequently used anxiety screening tool and has been suggested as suitable for postpartum anxiety [ 38 ]. In addition, diagnostic interviews are less anonymous and iWaWa’s anonymity was highlighted as an important strength by the participants.…”

“…It demonstrated validity and reliability in clinical practice and research [ 35 ]. It has been suggested that the GAD-7 is a viable postpartum anxiety screening tool [ 38 ].…”

Repetitive Negative Thinking and Its Role in Perinatal Mental Health

“…To our knowledge, the hypothesis that RNT predicts other perinat al anxiety disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder) has not been subject to empirical test. This is particularly surprising in the case of GAD, given that worry is the hallmark diagnostic criterion and also in light of evidence that it is the most prevalent post-partum anxiety disorder [5], and similarly for health anxiety (illness anxiety disorder in the DSM-V), in which RNT plays a key role [32]. Future, well-powered studies in which researchers examine whether levels of RNT during pregnancy predict post-partum depression and anxiety (at both the dimension al – i.e., symptom – as well as diagnostic level) are clearly needed.…”

“…The long-term consequences of maternal postnatal depression for the child are profound, in light of the documented link with the emergence of depression [2] and other psychiatric disorders [3] in offspring. Post-partum anxiety is also common, although it has been far less studied than has depression [4, 5]. Indeed, some recent evidence suggests that anxiety disorders are more prevalent than depression in the post-partum period [6].…”

Barriers to healthcare for Australian autistic adults

“…; DSM -5) GAD-A (Beesdo-Baum, Klotsche et al, 2012) is a nine-item self-report survey – which assesses anxiety symptomology in adults. The GAD-A has shown good internal consistency (α = 0.83), questionable test–retest reliability ( r = 0.64 over 2 weeks) and convergent and divergent validity (Pierson et al, 2017). Items are scored by selecting ‘not at all’, ‘several days’, ‘more than half of the days’ and ‘nearly every day’.…”