Decision-Making and Attention in Women with Postpartum Depression Disorder and Healthy Peers

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Research Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

2 PhD Student of Psychology, East Azerbaijan Research Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

3 Professor of Psychiatry, Research Center of Psychiatry And Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

4 Professor of Psychiatry, Research center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Postpartum depression is the most common psychiatric complication of childbirth, imposing serious impacts on the psychological and physical health of the mother and child. This study aimed to compare decision-making and attention in women with postpartum depression and their healthy counterparts.
Methods: The current research was conducted using case-control and causal-comparative research designs. The statistical population of this research was all the mothers referred to the health centers of Tabriz, and 30-40 days had passed since their delivery. Purposeful sampling was employed to select 35 individuals, who were screened by the Postpartum Depression Scale and divided into two groups consisting of mothers with postpartum depression (n = 16) and their healthy counterparts (n = 19), matched in terms of age and education level. The research tools included the Iowa gambling and the Stroop color-word computer tests to measure decision-making and attention, respectively. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).
Findings: The results showed that, overall, there is no significant difference between the two groups in the attention variable. Still, there is a significant difference in some of the subscales of congruent reaction time and incongruent reaction time in the two groups of postpartum depressed women and healthy peers. There is (P < 0.05). Also, the research findings indicate that there was no significant difference in the decision-making variable of both groups, and they showed poor performance.
Conclusion: The findings of this research show that postpartum depression is likely to be associated with problems in attention, and by knowing this correlation, more effective steps can be taken to prevent and provide psychological services to affected people.

Highlights

Behzad Shalchi: PubMed, Google Scholar 

Roghaye Bahry: PubMed, Google Scholar 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 42, Issue 760
4th Week, May
May and June 2024
Pages 184-192

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History

  • Receive Date: 29 December 2023
  • Revise Date: 09 June 2024
  • Accept Date: 26 June 2024

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