The inclusion of siblings in social skills training groups for boys with Asperger syndrome.

This pilot investigation evaluated the effectiveness of siblings as generalisation agents in an 8-week social skills training (SST) program designed for boys with Asperger syndrome (AS). Twenty-one boys aged 8-12 participated in a SST group alone, with a sibling, or remained in a wait-list control group. After training, participants' identification of non-verbal social cues significantly improved and was maintained at 3-month follow-up, irrespective of sibling involvement.

Anxiety and stress in the postpartum: is there more to postnatal distress than depression?

Background: Postnatal depression has received considerable research and clinical attention, however anxiety and stress in the postpartum has been relatively ignored. Along with the widespread use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), depression has become the marker for postnatal maladjustment. Symptoms of anxiety tend to be subsumed within diagnoses of depression, which can result in anxiety being minimized or overlooked in the absence of depression.

A randomized controlled trial of psychological interventions for postnatal depression.

Objectives: First, to establish the efficacy of psychological interventions versus routine primary care for the management of postnatal depression (PND). Secondly, to provide a direct comparison of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) versus counselling and, finally, to compare the relative value of group and individual delivery formats.

Design: The study involved 192 depressed women drawn from a large community screening programme in Melbourne, Australia and allocated to cognitive behaviour therapy, counselling, or routine primary care.

Screening for postnatal depression in routine primary care: properties of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in an Australian sample.

Objectives: First, to explore the utility of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in routine primary care through a large community screening program. Next, to compare administration of a second EPDS versus the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in identifying postnatal depression in the prescreened population.

Method: Screening with the EPDS through Maternal and Child Health Centres at 4 months post-partum.