The Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS)

Title of the Portuguese Version

Escala de Rastreio para a Ansiedade Perinatal

Original Version

Somerville, Dedman, Hagan, Oxnam, Wettinger, Byrne, Coo, Doherty, Page (2014)

Portuguese Version

Pereira, Pinto, Azevedo, Marques, Xavier, Soares, Marques, & Macedo (2019)

General Description

The PASS is a valid and reliable 31-item self-report instrument designed to screen for problematic anxiety in antenatal and postpartum women. It differentiates between high and low risk for presenting with an anxiety disorder by measuring four domains that address specific symptoms of anxiety as they present in perinatal women. These domains form subscales which include: 1) Excessive Worry and Specific Fears, 2) Perfectionism, Control and Trauma, 3) Social Anxiety, and 4) Acute Anxiety and Adjustment. The PASS was validated for perinatal (i.e., pregnant or less than 1 year postpartum) women who are English-speaking, literate, and aged 18 years and older. The average time taken for respondents to complete the PASS is 6 minutes.

References

  • Somerville, S., Dedman, K., Hagan, R., Oxnam, E., Wettinger, M., Byrne, S., Coo, S., Doherty, D., Page, A.C. (2014). The Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale: development and preliminary validation. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, DOI: 10.1007/s00737-014-0425-8

    Pereira, A. T., Pinto, C., Azevedo, J., Marques, C., Xavier, S., Soares, M.J., Marques, M., & Macedo, A. (2019). Validity and reliability of the perinatal anxiety screening scale in a portuguese sample of pregnant women. European Psychiatry 56S; S3–S444

Contacts

Julieta Azevedo – julietazevedo@gmail.com