Grant: Project Grant

Anxiety and anxiety-related disorders (AD) are the most common of all mental health conditions. They affect 20% of pregnant and postpartum people, and are significantly more common among women compared with men. AD are associated with significant distress and life interference for suffers, as well as negative consequences for fetal/infant development. Despite this, perinatal AD are rarely screened for, and remain relatively neglected compared with other perinatal mental health conditions (e.g., depression). At present, little if any routine screening for prenatal AD is being conducted and data regarding the most effective tools to screen for these disorders is lacking. The majority of screening studies have used poor quality research methodology or have assessed measures which appear to perform too poorly to be recommended for widespread use. The objective of this research is to identify the most effective tool to screen for perinatal AD. To do this, we will conduct a large scale study of pregnant and postpartum people in which the screening accuracy of a broad range of perinatal AD self report measures are assessed. This will be the first comprehensive study of prenatal AD screening tools in which gold standard methodology is employed. This research is in response to an urgent global demand for evidence-based perinatal AD screening tools. AD among perinatal people typically go unidentified and untreated, resulting in continued suffering and life impairment. This research will provide important information to inform healthcare providers, policymakers and scientists, about the most effective approach to screening for anxiety and related disorders in pregnancy in the postpartum period.