NCJ Number
192236
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 41 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 28-35
Editor(s)
Mina K. Dulcan M.D.
Date Published
January 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article examines postpartum depression (PD) and its potential negative impact during the early years of child development and presented criteria in the assessment of proposed prevention efforts to avoid poor child outcomes.
Abstract
This article attempts to evaluate postpartum depression (PD) and whether it is an appropriate target in the prevention of poor child outcomes. The article presents a series of seven criteria for assessing proposed prevention targets that included: (1) plausibility of causality of the factor for the outcome; (2) high attributable risk of the factor for the outcome; (3) alterability of the relationship between the factor and the outcome; (4) the factor is detectable through screening; (5) interventions targeting the factor could readily be disseminated; (6) low adverse risk of the intervention targeting the factor; and (7) acceptability of the target and intervention by key stakeholders. Even though child mental health problems may be more complicated due to their complex etiologies and contextual factors, the criteria was still seen as applicable. These criteria cover key aspects potentially influencing the success of a targeted prevention program. However, there was mixed support for accepting PD as a target for improving child mental health outcomes. There were several PD characteristics that were identified as fulfilling some of the criteria, as well as areas of weakness for promoting PD as an intervention to improve child outcomes. The hope was that these criteria would lead to a more rigorous and systematic approach to assessing the expanding field of prevention in child mental health. References