Paternal depression in the postnatal period assessed with traditional and male depression scales

Background: The occurrence of postnatal depression in fathers has begun to receive attention in the international research literature. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) assessment tool has been validated for men. However, identification of such men has been hindered by the use of assessment tools that may not be sensitive to the particular depressive symptoms experienced by men. So far the problem of male depressive symptoms has not been included in research on men's postnatal depressions. Methods: As part of a fatherhood research programme, the EPDS and the Gotland Male Depression Scale (GMDS) were administered to 607 fathers 6 weeks after the birth of their child. Results: 549 (90.4%) fathers were assessed for the presence of depressive symptoms. The prevalence was 5.0% with EPDS (cut-off ≥10) and 3.4% with GMDS (cut-off ≥13). While 2.1% of the fathers had scores above the cut-off on both scales, 3.1% were assessed using only the EPDS and 1.3% with only the GMDS. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that better methods for identifying men with postnatal depression need to be developed and should consist of assessment scales that also include male depressive symptoms.