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The psychometric properties of the 16-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) as a screening instrument for perinatal psychosis

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Abstract

Psychiatric illness can pose serious risks to pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. There is a need for screening tools that can identify women at risk for postpartum psychosis, the most dangerous perinatal psychiatric illness. This study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Rasch item response theory (IRT) models to evaluate the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Spanish language version of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) as a screening tool for psychosis in a population of pregnant Peruvian women. The EFA yielded a four-factor model, which accounted for 44% of the variance. Factor 1, representing “unstable sense of self,” accounted for 22.1% of the total variance; factor 2, representing “ideas of reference/paranoia,” for 8.4%; factor 3, representing “sensitivity to sensory experiences,” accounted for 7.2%; and factor 4, possibly representing negative symptoms, accounted for 6.3%. Rasch IRT analysis found that all of the items fit the model. These findings support the construct validity of the PQ-16 in this pregnant Peruvian population. Also, further research is needed to establish definitive psychiatric diagnoses to determine the predictive power of the PQ-16 as a screening tool.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by awards from the National Institutes of Health (T32-MH-093310 and R01-HD-059835). The NIH had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. The authors wish to thank the dedicated staff members of Asociacion Civil Proyectos en Salud (PROESA), Peru, and Instituto Materno Perinatal, Peru, for their expert technical assistance with this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 151 Merrimac St, 4th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Elizabeth J. Levey

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Elizabeth J. Levey

  3. Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

    Elizabeth J. Levey

  4. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Qiu-Yue Zhong, Michelle A. Williams & Bizu Gelaye

  5. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

    Marta B. Rondon

  6. Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru

    Sixto Sanchez

  7. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    Jiong Li

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Levey, E.J., Zhong, QY., Rondon, M.B. et al. The psychometric properties of the 16-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) as a screening instrument for perinatal psychosis. Arch Womens Ment Health 21, 563–572 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0833-2

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