Effectiveness of psychological interventions in the treatment of perinatal depression: A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Background: Perinatal depression is a high prevalent mental health problem with serious consequences. Evidence about effective psychological interventions in treating perinatal depression has been increasing, but it lacks a comprehensive synthesis of findings.

Methods: A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses concerning the effectiveness of psychological interventions in treating perinatal depression (depression during pregnancy and the first 12 months postpartum) in adult women was conducted.

Is positive affect in pregnancy protective of postpartum depression?

Objective: To investigate the predictive/protective role of negative affect/positive affect in late pregnancy on the outcome of postpartum depression.

Methods: A total of 491 pregnant women participated in the study. The participants were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires, which included the Profile of Mood States, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, psychosocial variables and socio-demographic characteristics and were asked to participate in a psychiatric interview.

Disordered eating behaviors and sleep disturbances.

The aim of the present study was to investigate if disordered eating behaviors predicted the development of sleep disturbances. A total of 870 students participated at baseline, 592 one year later (T1) and 305 two years later (T2). The Eating Attitudes Test-40 was used to assess global disordered eating behaviors, dietary concerns (DC), bulimic behaviors (BB) and social pressure to eat (SPE).

Short forms of the postpartum depression screening scale: as accurate as the original form.

The aims of the present study were to develop three shorter forms of the Portuguese version of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) as adapted and translated in Portugal, to analyse their psychometrics and to determine their cut-off points and associated conditional probabilities to screen for perinatal depression according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria. In this study, 441 women in the third trimester of pregnancy and 453 in the third month of postpartum were interviewed for diagnostic purposes according to the Portuguese versions of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies and the Operational Criteria Checklist for Psychotic Illness. DSM-IV and ICD-10 classifications of depression were our gold standards for caseness.

The role of perfectionism in postpartum depression and symptomatology.

The role of perfectionism as a correlate and as a predictor of perinatal depressive symptomatology and disorder was examined. Three-hundred and eighty-six pregnant women (mean age = 30.08 years; SD = 4.

Epidemiology of perinatal depression in Portugal: categorical and dimensional approach.

The aim of the present study was to estimate depressive disorder and symptomatology prevalence and incidence in perinatal period in a population-based sample. Three-hundred and eighty six Portuguese women (mean age=30.08 years, SD=4.

Affective state dependence and relative trait stability of perfectionism in sleep disturbances.

Objective: To evaluate the degree of absolute change, relative stability and state dependence of trait perfectionism in sleep disturbances in a sample of university students.

Method: Participants completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and two items concerning sleep difficulties. The mean age at T0 (baseline) was 19.

Sleep disturbances, body mass index and eating behaviour in undergraduate students.

This study investigates the association between sleep disturbances, body mass index (BMI) and eating behaviour in a sample of undergraduate students. The sample comprises 870 medicine and dentistry students from Coimbra University (62.5% females), aged between 17 and 25 years.

The postpartum depression screening scale: is it valid to screen for antenatal depression?

The purpose of the study was to analyse for the first time the validity of a slightly modified version of the Portuguese Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS), to be used as a screening instrument for antenatal depression. Specifically, the aims were to analyse its psychometric properties, to determine PDSS cutoff points and associated conditional probabilities to screen for depression according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria and to compare its screening performance with that of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Five hundred and three pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy completed both questionnaires and were interviewed face-to-face with the Portuguese version of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies.

Is insomnia in late pregnancy a risk factor for postpartum depression/depressive symptomatology?

The aim of the present work was to investigate if insomnia in late pregnancy is a risk factor for postpartum depressive symptomatology/postpartum depression (PPD). 581 women in their last trimester of pregnancy answered questions/questionnaires about lifetime history of insomnia, current sleep perception, current mood and depressive symptomatology. They were interviewed with the Portuguese version of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies.

The Portuguese version of the postpartum depression screening scale.

The aim of the present study was to analyse whether the Portuguese version of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) was a valid instrument for screening postpartum depression. For this purpose the following objectives were delineated: (1) to analyse PDSS psychometric properties; (2) to determine PDSS cut-off points and associated conditional probabilities for screening depression according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria; and (3) to compare the performance of PDSS with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) in screening for postpartum depression. Four hundred eighty-six 3-months-postpartum women completed both questionnaires and were interviewed with the Portuguese version of Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS).

[The premedical syndrome: does it exist in Portugal?].

Introduction: In Portugal, the medical school selection process relies exclusively on past academic results, involving the most stringent criteria of all courses, with no attention given to the personality traits of the students. In a competitive context, perfectionism dimensions may be relevant to consider. Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (SPP) has been correlated with Neuroticism, while Self-Oriented Perfectionism (SOP) is strongly associated with Conscientiousness.

Longitudinal study on perfectionism and sleep disturbance.

Aim: To examine if perfectionism predicts self-reported sleep disturbances over time.

Methods: The Hewitt-Flett Perfectionism Scale was used to assess self-oriented, socially-prescribed (SPP) and other-oriented perfectionism. Sleep disturbance was evaluated with two items: difficulty in falling asleep and waking up many times during the night.

Perfectionism in obsessive-compulsive and eating disorders.

Objective: The main aims of this article are twofold. First, to assess perfectionism dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders in comparison with psychiatric control (depression/anxiety) and non-clinical control groups. Second, to examine if perfectionism is specifically related to these different clinical conditions.

Perfectionism and eating attitudes in Portuguese students: a longitudinal study.

Aim: To investigate the role of perfectionism in the development of disordered eating behaviours.

Method: 382 female university students completed the Hewitt & Flett MPS and the EAT-40 at baseline, and 1 year after (T1) and 206 2 years later (T2).

Results: Perfectionism at baseline was significantly associated with long-term abnormal eating attitudes/behaviours.

Perfectionism dimensions in pregnancy--a study in Portuguese women.

Pregnancy is essentially a physiological event, but neuroendocrinal and psychosocial changes are also important components of this experience. In this context, perceived stress may be enhanced by the activation of certain personality traits, like perfectionism, which in turn may be associated with more psychological distress (PD). The aim of this study was to investigate if perfectionism could be associated with more negative emotional outcomes (PD) in the transition to motherhood and to look at which of the perfectionism dimensions these consequences are specifically linked.

Factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese children.

Objective: To examine the factor structure of the Rutter Teacher Questionnaire in Portuguese primary school children.

Method: The Rutter Teacher Questionnaire, a 26-item scale covering a variety of behavioral problems, was completed by teachers of 877 children, aged 6 to 11 years. Data were subjected to factor analysis using the principal components solution with varimax rotation.

The BDI-II factor structure in pregnancy and postpartum: Two or three factors?

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) in pregnancy and postpartum. Women were asked to fill in the BDI-II in their last trimester of pregnancy and at 3 months after delivery. A total of 331 pregnant women, with a mean age of 29.

The Portuguese short form of the Eating Attitudes Test-40.

To develop a Portuguese short form, the Eating Attitudes Test-40 (EAT-40) was administered to a community sample of 922 female students and to a clinical sample of 63 females suffering from an eating disorder. With the EAT responses of the community sample a factor analysis was performed and items with factor loadings > or = 0.30 were selected.

Perfectionism and sleep disturbance.

The main purpose of the present research was to explore gender-related associations between sleep disturbance and perfectionism dimensions in a large sample of undergraduate students. Perfectionism dimensions have been assessed using the Portuguese version of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt and Flett, 1991 , J Pers Soc Psychol 60:456; Soares et al., 2003 , Rev Port Psicossom 5:46) and sleep disturbance with two items concerning difficulties initiating sleep and difficulties maintaining sleep.

Perfectionism and eating attitudes in Portuguese university students.

Objectives: The main objective was to explore which are the dimensions of perfectionism that are linked to disordered eating behaviour (EB) in a large non-clinical sample of both genders.

Method: One thousand one hundred and sixty-three undergraduate students of the University of Coimbra completed the Portuguese versions of the multidimensional perfectionism scale (MPS) and the eating attitudes test (EAT-40).

Results: In both genders, the MPS total score was associated with the EAT total score and all EAT dimensions (except for socially prescribed perfectionism in females).