The Benefit of a Retrospective Pregnancy Anamnesis in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The Reliability of Maternal Self-Report during Childhood Development

Mestermann S, Fasching P, Beckmann M, Gerlach J, Kratz O, Moll G, Kornhuber J, Eichler A (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Children MDPI

Book Volume: 10

Article Number: 866

Journal Issue: 5

DOI: 10.3390/children10050866

Abstract

Pregnancy anamnesis is a crucial part of child and adolescent psychiatry diagnostics. In previous works, the reliability of retrospective maternal self-report on perinatal characteristics was heterogeneous. This prospective longitudinal study aimed to evaluate women’s recall of prenatal events in a within-subject design. A sample of 241 women gave a self-report on prenatal alcohol, smoking, partnership quality, pregnancy satisfaction, and obstetric complications during the 3rd trimester (t0), childhood (t1, 6–10 y), and adolescence (t2, 12–14 y). The intra-individual agreement was examined. The t0–t1–(t2) agreement was poor to substantial; this was highest for smoking and worst for obstetric complications, followed by alcohol (Fleiss’ κ = 0.719 to −0.051). There were significant t0–t1–(t2) differences for all pregnancy variables (p < 0.017), except for 3rd trimester satisfaction (p = 0.256). For alcohol (t0 25.8%, t1 17.4%, t2 41.0%) and smoking (t0 11.9%, t1 16.4%, t2 22.6%), the highest self-reported rates were found during adolescence. During childhood, fewer obstetric complications (t0 84.9%, t1 42.2%) and worse partnerships were reported (t0 M = 8.86, t1 M = 7.89). Thought to be due to social stigmata and memory effects, pregnancy self-reports cannot be precisely reproduced. Creating a respectful and trusting atmosphere is essential for mothers to give honest self-reports that are in the best interest of their children.

Authors with CRIS profile

Stefan Mestermann Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Peter Fasching Professur für Translationale Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe Matthias Beckmann Lehrstuhl für Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde Jennifer Gerlach Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Oliver Kratz Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Gunther Moll Professur für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie Johannes Kornhuber Lehrstuhl für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Anna Eichler Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health

How to cite

APA:

Mestermann, S., Fasching, P., Beckmann, M., Gerlach, J., Kratz, O., Moll, G.,... Eichler, A. (2023). The Benefit of a Retrospective Pregnancy Anamnesis in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The Reliability of Maternal Self-Report during Childhood Development. Children, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/children10050866

MLA:

Mestermann, Stefan, et al. "The Benefit of a Retrospective Pregnancy Anamnesis in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The Reliability of Maternal Self-Report during Childhood Development." Children 10.5 (2023).

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