A French validation of the Childbirth PostTraumatic Event Scale (CPTES)

Abstract

Background: International literature highlights that 2 to 6% of women are at risk to develop PTDS after childbirth (Denis & al., 2008; Alcorn & al., 2010) and 24 to 33% of women experience symptoms of PTSD (Van Son & al., 2005; Cigoli & al., 2006). The aim of this study is to validate a specific measure of PTSD after childbirth based on diagnostic criteria from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, fifth edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) with four distinct diagnostic clusters: (B) Intrusion symptoms; (C) Avoidance; (D) Negative cognition and mood, and (E) Alterations in arousal and reactivity. Add to this the stressor criteria (A). Method: A total of 342 French women were recruited during the last trimester of pregnancy. Then, they were contacted at two months and six months post-partum. The scale was inspired from the Traumatic Event Scale (Wijma & al., 1997) and the Perinatal PTSD Questionnaire (Demier & al., 1996). Findings: A principal components analysis was conducted and a 4-factor solution, which explained 56, 3% of the variance, was retained: an intrusion factor (5 items), an avoidance factor (2 items), a negative cognition and mood factor (7 items) and an alterations in arousal factor (6 items). The scale has satisfactory psychometric properties. Discussion: After the recognition of the PTSD disorder after childbirth, several studies have been carried out. This scale should be useful for scientific researchers and clinical practitioners for diagnosis of PTSD after child-birth.