ABSTRACT
Several excellent scales are available that screen for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This chapter describes basic psychometric parameters for judging whether a scale is reliable and valid. Another important consideration is whether to use a broad screen or a more stringent one. A broad screen will identify more mothers who are depressed but may incorrectly identify a few mothers as depressed when they are not. In contrast, with a more stringent screening measure, all mothers identified are likely to be depressed. However, it will miss many depressed mothers with milder symptoms.
