Assessment of maternal fatigue and depression in the postpartum period: support for two separate constructs

Abstract

Abstract The relationship between fatigue and depression in the postpartum period has been of interest to researchers and clinicians. However, conceptual and measurement issues of how to best assess and clearly distinguish between fatigue and depressive symptoms have plagued this work. The aim of the current study was to assess the discriminant validity between fatigue and depression in a community sample of 228 mothers within 1 year postpartum using two self‐report measures: the Fatigue Assessment Scale and the Depression subscale from the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) revealed that a two‐factor model presenting fatigue and depression as related but distinct constructs was a better fit of the data than a one‐factor model. Implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed, with particular focus on the need to differentiate fatigue and depression for postpartum mothers. Keywords: postpartum depressionfatiguemothersdiscriminant validity