Prevalence rates and demographic characteristics associated with depression in pregnancy and the postpartum.

Examined the prevalence of depression in a heterogeneous sample of 360 pregnant women. Subjects were assessed with respect to both depressive symptomatology and diagnostic status during pregnancy and after delivery. At both assessments, approximately 25% of the sample reported elevated levels of depressive symptomatology. In contrast, 10% of the women met diagnostic criteria for depression during pregnancy, and 6.8% were depressed postpartum. However, only half of the cases of postpartum depression were new onset (3.4%); the remaining women receiving a diagnosis in the postpartum had also been depressed during pregnancy. Finally, depression during pregnancy was related to different sociodemographic variables than was postpartum depression, suggesting that depression at these two times may be associated with different psychological or etiological factors.

Prospective investigation of postpartum depression: factors involved in onset and recovery.

We examined the role of a number of psychosocial variables in the onset of postpartum depression and in recovery from depression that occurs during pregnancy. Women (N = 730) were recruited during pregnancy and were followed through 1 month postpartum. They were assessed on demographic variables and on measures of depressive symptomatology and diagnostic status, perceived stress, marital satisfaction, perceptions of their own parents, dysfunctional cognitions, and coping style. Onset of depression in the postpartum was predicted by the levels during pregnancy of depressive symptomatology and perceived maternal and paternal care during childhood. In contrast, recovery in the postpartum from depression during pregnancy was not predicted by the variables examined in this study. These results are discussed with reference to previous investigations that have examined depression that occurs outside the context of childbirth.

Canadian medical student interest in general practice and the specialties.

The interest of 1900 Canadian medical students in the various fields of medical practice was measured by a questionnaire. The students were asked to rank the various fields in order of their interest in them. It was found that general practice, internal medicine and surgery were the fields which consistently captured most interest among the students. Few students ranked dermatology, administration, teaching and research in the first three ranks.Striking differences in the interest preferences of male and female students were demonstrated, with the women ranking pediatrics and psychiatry higher than the men. Significantly more men, however, expressed a prime interest in surgery.Interest in general practice increases with the senior years in medical school, but it was shown that this increase is associated with marital status and with the number of children rather than with the year of training alone.Interest in the fields of medical practice varied between medical schools, with general practice ranking highest at British Columbia and relatively low at McGill and Manitoba. Significant differences between the students of the schools were displayed in the case of neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics and psychiatry.

Depression and perceptions of early parenting: a longitudinal investigation.

It has been suggested that the quality of early parenting received by depressed adults is more negative than that received by non-depressed people. Since perceptions of parenting are usually examined only when subjects are depressed, depressed subjects' negative reports may be distortions due to their depression, rather than accurate recollections. In the present study, both depressed and remitted women reported experiencing greater parental overprotection than did non-depressed women, but only depressed subjects also reported less parental caring. The results are discussed with respect to the early experiences of depressed individuals, the distinction between parental caring and overprotection, and the importance of interpersonal factors associated with depression.