What the heck are the ASDS and HADS assessments and what do they measure?

 

The Acute Stress Disorder Scale (ASDS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) are short screening assessments. The ASDS looks for symptoms that indicate traumatic stress; while the HADS looks for symptoms of anxiety and depression. 

These tests have been researched and found to be valid and reliable... which means that they measure what they're supposed to measure over and over again. This is especially helpful as Happy Birth Day measures your mental health right after the birth of your child using the ASDS and HADS, and then again one to two months later. If there are changes, comparing the two tests will reveal the changes. 

Based on the comparison of results from the initial tests (baseline) to the second test (follow-up), your occupational therapist may recommend that you speak to your healthcare provider about the changes. This is because the ASDS and HADS cannot diagnose you. Instead, they screen you for potential issues, and then an appropriate healthcare provider can use those screening questions to guide their own clinical questions. If your physician feels like you have a mental health condition, they may diagnose you or send you to a psychiatrist to be diagnosed.

In short, these two assessments are used to help raise a red flag when there might be issues with patients' stress levels (PTSD-related), feelings of anxiety, or feelings of depression.

Bryant, R., Moulds, M., & Guthrie, R. (2000). Acute Stress Disorder Scale: A self-report measure of Acute Stress Disorder. Psychological Assessments, 12(1), 61-68.

Crawford, J. R., Henry, J. D., Crombie, C., & Taylor, E. P. (2001). Normative data for the HADS from a large non‐clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40(4), 429-434.