[Narcissistic crisis and prediction of post-partum depression: validation of a self-report questionnaire]

J B Dethieux1, I Abadie, H Grandjean

  • 1Unité de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, CHU de Toulouse, Hôpital de La Grave.

L'Encephale
|August 22, 2000
PubMed

We sought a relationship between disorders of the narcissistic transition during pregnancy and post-partum depression. We designed a self-report questionnaire VASANT (Visual Analogic Scale for Assessment of Narcissistic Transition) in an attempt to identify women at risk from post-partum depression. A preliminary validation was carried out on 52 pregnant women. Seventeen women (33%) were identified using a semi-directive interview as suffering from a disorder in the narcissistic transition. These women had a significantly higher VASANT score (67.7 +/- 14.2 versus 20.2 +/- 8.4) than the others and had a higher incidence of post-partum depression. The value of the VASANT scale for prediction of post-partum depression is discussed.

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