Michael W. O'Hara

Improving the measurement of symptoms of emotional disorders has been an important goal of mental health research. In direct response to this need, the Expanded Version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II) was developed to assess symptom dimensions underlying psychological disorders. Unlike other scales that serve as screening instruments used for diagnostic purposes, the IDAS-II is not closely tethered to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); rather, its scales cut across DSM boundaries to examine psychopathology in a dimensional rather than a categorical way. Developed by authors David Watson and Michael O'Hara, the IDAS-II has broad implications for our understanding of psychopathology. Understanding the Emotional Disorders is the first manual for how to use the IDAS-II and examines important, replicable symptom dimensions contained within five adjacent diagnostic classes in the DSM-5: depressive disorders, bipolar and related disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. It reviews problems and limitations associated with traditional, diagnosis-based approaches to studying psychopathology and establishes the theoretical and clinical value of analyzing specific types of symptoms within the emotional disorders. It demonstrates that several of these disorders contain multiple symptom dimensions that clearly can be differentiated from one another. Moreover, these symptom dimensions are highly robust and generalizable and can be identified in multiple types of data, including self-ratings, semi-structured interviews, and clinicians' ratings. Furthermore, individual symptom dimensions often have strikingly different correlates, such as varying levels of criterion validity, incremental predictive power, and diagnostic specificity. Consequently, it is more informative to examine these specific types of symptoms, rather than the broader disorders. The book concludes with the development of a more comprehensive, symptom-based model that subsumes various forms of psychopathology-including sleep disturbances, eating- and weight-related problems, personality pathology, psychosis/thought disorder, and hypochondriasis-beyond the emotional disorders.

Postpartum Depression: Causes and Consequences chronicles a decade and a half of research into this relatively common mood disorder experienced in various forms by between 10-40% of all women following delivery. The author has conducted three major studies all of which are presented in this volume. The most recent study comprises the bulk of the monograph and presents the results with regard to psychological, social and hormonal factors in postpartum depression and the blues. Information regarding the epidemiology, etiology and treatment of postpartum depression is also included. The work described in this volume represents the attempt by the author to begin to address several of the major unresolved questions regarding the prevalence, causes, and consequences of postpartum mood disorders. The important negative implications of poor maternal adjustment for both the new mother and her family as well as the increased awareness of childbearing women who are now demanding answers and information make this book indispensable for all practitioners in psychology, psychiatry and obstetrics-gynecology as well as for the students of these disciplines.

"Postpartum Depression: Causes and Consequences" chronicles a decade and a half of research into this relatively common mood disorder experienced in various forms by between 10-40% of all women following delivery. The author has conducted three major studies all of which are presented in this volume. The most recent study comprises the bulk of the monograph and presents the results with regard to psychological, social and hormonal factors in postpartum depression and the blues. Information regarding the epidemiology, etiology and treatment of postpartum depression is also included. The work described in this volume represents the attempt by the author to begin to address several of the major unresolved questions regarding the prevalence, causes, and consequences of postpartum mood disorders. The important negative implications of poor maternal adjustment for both the new mother and her family as well as the increased awareness of childbearing women who are now demanding answers and information make this book indispensable for all practitioners in psychology, psychiatry and obstetrics-gynecology as well as for the students of these disciplines.