Purpose: Pathological worry is a major feature of anxiety in the peripartum, and we sought to examine the factor structure, validity, and reliability in the peripartum of a scale used to measure worry in the general population (the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, PSWQ). Materials and Methods: Pregnant/postpartum women (N = 295) were followed at up to six visits, which included completion of the PSWQ and other psychological scales. Principal components analysis, descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, chi-square tests, and mixed linear regression models were used to evaluate scale reliability and validity. Results: Most participants (63%) reported a history of a mood disorder, 40% an anxiety disorder, and 18% both. Mean PSWQ score at entry was 47.19 (of a possible 80). PSWQ scores were positively correlated with conceptually related measures (correlations 0.55-0.76, all p < 0.001), and were most closely aligned with the TRAIT scale of Spielberg State-Trait Anxiety Scale. Participants with a history of any mood or anxiety disorder had significantly higher worry scores (ts range = 3.70-6.69, ps < 0.01). Individuals with a current diagnosis were more likely to be high worriers (χ2 = 8.26, p = 0.004 and χ2 = 34.99, p < 0.001 for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, respectively). Conclusions: The PSWQ correlated well with all psychological scales, especially TRAIT anxiety. Worry appears to be a major component of perinatal anxiety, and the PSWQ may be a valuable tool for more precise specification of the clinical phenotypes of perinatal anxiety. Limitations include a study population that was largely Caucasian and well educated, so study results require replication in a more diverse population.
Keywords: anxiety; mood; postpartum; pregnancy; worry.