Development of the Aydoğan-Depression Screening Scale for Pregnant and Determination of Depression Risks of Pregnant Women

Objective: The aim of the study is to develop the “Aydoğan-Depression Screening Scale for Pregnant” (A-DSP) for depression screening during pregnancy and to test its validity and reliability. Method: This methodological study was conducted with 369 pregnant. A-DSP was designed as a 4-point Likert-type self-report scale consisting of positive and negative propositions. Content, construct and criterion validity were evaluated. Internal consistency analyses, item analysis and test-retest were performed to evaluate reliability. The cut-off score was determined by ROC analysis. Result: The results obtained from all validity and reliability analyses of A-DSP were at a sufficient level. It was found that A-DSP consisted of 4 subdimensions and 21 items, total explained variance was 56.3%, and Cronbach's Alpha was 0.919. An increase in scores indicates an increase in the suspicion of depression. In addition, it is accepted that there is a suspicion of depression at a score≥41. It was determined that 29.5% of the pregnant women had a suspicion of depression. Conclusion: It was concluded that A-DSP is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to screen for depression in pregnant women. It is thought that it would be beneficial to screen for depression using A-DSP, to monitor the mental status of pregnant women by A-DSP, to perceive it as an early warning for depression when there is a change, and to refer to a psychiatrist for further examination.