Abstract
Maternal depression has been widely studied but paternal depression is often overlooked. Depression in men is generally more difficult to detect as the symptoms are not apparent. Furthermore, Japanese couples tend to suppress their real emotions to avoid confrontation. We aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the K6, K10 and PHQ-9 in assessing the mental health status of men when used by their pregnant partners, as well as the prevalence of paternal prenatal depression in a Japanese study sample. A total of 136 couples participated in this study. The prevalence of paternal prenatal depression reported by the men themselves was higher compared to that reported by their female partners (K6, 10.3 %; K10, 6.6 %; PHQ-9, 3.7 % vs. K6-FP, 2.2 %; K10-FP, 1.5 %; PHQ-9-FP, 0 %, respectively). Mental health issues in men may not be accurately rated by their female partners, suggesting the importance of self-rating and direct consultation.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the participants of the study. The authors also thank Kiwako Yamamoto M.D. for her advice on the interpretation of results and Yoshiko Kato, Mika Sasaki and Tomoko Miyazaki, for assistance with instrumentation. This study was supported by a Grant for Japan Environment & Children’s Study from the Ministry of the Environment.
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Konishi, M., Tachibana, Y., Tang, J. et al. A Comparison of Self-Rated and Female Partner-Rated Scales in the Assessment of Paternal Prenatal Depression. Community Ment Health J 52, 983–988 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9931-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9931-z