Screening for perinatal depressive and affective disorders in fathers: the Perinatal Assessment of Paternal Affectivity

Previous studies suggested that perinatal psychological distress in men can be displayed through a wide array of signs and symptoms, including not only depression and anxiety, but also additional psychological, behavioral, and interpersonal problems. However, traditional questionnaires used for routine screening focused almost exclusively on standard depressive symptoms. Thus, we developed the Perinatal Assessment of Paternal Affectivity (PAPA), a new self-report tool for the screening of perinatal depressive and affective disorder. Initial findings revealed that PAPA demonstrated adequate validity and reliability in fathers. The aim of this study is to provide additional psychometric evidence, testing internal consistency and concurrent validity of the scale, also including a sample of mothers. To this purpose, we collected data of 218 Italian heterosexual expectant couples at the third trimester of pregnancy. Both fathers and mothers filled out the PAPA or PAMA (Perinatal Assessment of Maternal Affectivity) respectively, and other standardize questionnaires concerning individual and couple adjustment. We also collected data on sociodemographic information and recent stressful life events. Results suggests that the questionnaire revealed adequate internal consistency (p <. 05) in both mothers and fathers. The PAMA/PAPA total scores significantly correlated with other measures such as depressive symptoms, psychological distress, perceived stress, and couple dyadic adjustment (p < .05). We also found a significant association between maternal and paternal PAMA/PAPA scores (p< .05). These findings provide additional support for the validity and reliability of the scale suggesting its utility in identifying early signs and symptoms of perinatal psychological distress in both parents. Further studies should replicate and extend the study of the PAMA/PAPA psychometric properties in different cultural contexts.