Grant: Project Grant - PA: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction

At present, little if any routine screening for perinatal anxiety and related disorders is carried out. This is despite the fact that the anxiety and their related disorders affect 20% of pregnant and postpartum women, and are significantly more common than is depression. They are significantly more common among women compared with men, and are associated with significant distress and life interference for sufferers, as well as negative consequences for fetal/infant development. Despite the above, perinatal anxiety and related disorders remains a relatively neglected area of research compared with other mental health conditions. Although screening is a critical step in the pathway to effective care, an accurate and effective screening tool for perinatal anxiety and related disorders has yet to be identified. The majority of studies in this area have used inadequate methodology, or have assessed measures which appear to perform too poorly to recommend for wide-spread use. The primary objective of this research is to identify an effective self-report measure to screen for perinatal anxiety and related disorders. To do this, we are proposing to conduct a large scale study using a representative sample of pregnant and postpartum women in which a broad range of self-report measures are assessed and compared with gold standard diagnostic interviews. Ours will be the first comprehensive study of perinatal anxiety and related disorder screening tools in which gold standard methodology is used. This research responds to an urgent public health need. Specifically, women who suffer from anxiety and related disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum currently remain unidentified and therefore suffer without adequate treatment. This research will provide important information that will inform health care providers, policy makers and scientists about the most effective approach to screening for anxiety and related disorders in pregnancy and the postpartum.