Screening and treatment of perinatal depression and anxiety

This book aims to deepen the scientific knowledge and clinical understanding of perinatal depression and anxiety, which are internationally recognized as significant mental health problems for both women and men. Among the perinatal mental disorders, depression and anxiety have received much attention from research and clinical fields. Specifically, the first one, perinatal depression, has been largely investigated in women in the last 20 years. There is a relevant amount of research studies showing the clinical evidence of this psychopathological picture, its prevalence across several countries according to different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, the specificity of risk and etiological factors and the potential negative influence at several levels. Indeed, empirical evidence has revealed how perinatal depression can severely impact on parental couples’ adjustment, early mother-infant interactions and mother-child relationships; besides, longitudinal investigations have revealed a significant influence on child development and mental health, even considering long-term consequences up to adolescence. The investigation and description of clinical characteristics of perinatal anxiety has become relevant too among researchers and clinicians, especially in the last 10 years. Along with this topic, the identification of both perinatal depression and anxiety in the male population is receiving a larger interest, highlighting the need to further investigate these issues in scientific literature. Based on these premises, the contents of this book offer a glance at the investigation of emerging research areas and of interest in the context of perinatal depression and anxiety. The contributions cover a wide range of topics. The first area regards the investigation of clinical characteristics and predictors of perinatal depression and anxiety, giving special attention to both women and men and to the impact of recent COVID-19 pandemic. A second investigated topic in the booklet is represented by the analysis of assessment and screening tools for the detection of both perinatal depression and anxiety. Early identification of clinically relevant symptoms is crucial for the implementation of ad hoc tailored interventions. Through the past years, since the development of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; Cox et al., 1987), a lot of research activity has dedicated efforts in creating new instruments and evaluating their psychometric properties. This section further investigates the characteristics of already existing questionnaires and proposes new tools to possibly implement and improve the screening processes. The third area focuses more on the intervention, including critical reviews on psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for the general improvement of perinatal mental health. The contents of this book are of interest for all professionals working in the field of perinatal mental health, with the aim to foster the progress of research knowledge and clinical perspectives.