Myra Cabus

Critique 3

Reference the article.

The article is called, Mental Health During Pregnancy: A Study Comparing Asian, Caucasian
and Native Hawaiian Women.

Was this a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods study?

The article is a quantitative study, in which researchers conducted interviews to obtain data.

Summarize the research study to cover: Introduction; Methods; Results; Discussion.

The article serves the purpose to address and identify the prevalence of substance use,
depression and anxiety among Asian, Caucasian and Native Hawaiian women in Hawaii
during pregnancy and ethnic variation in perinatal mental health issues. It is assumed in the
article that cultural identity and differing cultural practices are key factors in mental health
issues for pregnant and postpartum women. It is important to investigate the effects of mental
health in Native Hawaiian women because there is little research on rates of mental health in
specific ethnicities. Mental health issues in the study include: prenatal substance abuse and
depression and anxiety disorders.
The target population was a convenience sample of 84 Asian, Caucasian or Native Hawaiian
women, ages 18-35, who sought initial prenatal care at a clinic or physician office associated
with a specific community medical center, which specializes in women and children on Oahu,
Hawaii. Interviews were conducted in the womens first trimester of pregnancy in the
OB/GYN waiting room. Interviews were conducted in English and included demographics,
medical history, substance use and health behaviors, general stress, PTSD symptomatology,
history of trauma, anxiety, depression, and social support. These interviews were about 30

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minutes each. There were brief subsequent interviews in the second and third trimesters;
however the study only used data from the first interview in the first trimester of these
women.
In order to study alcohol use and abuse, participants were evaluated with the TWEAK tool,
which is a 5-item self-report measure. It detects harmful and dependent drinking tendencies. It
identifies: Tolerance, Worry, Eye-opener, Amnesia and Cut down in drinking.
In order to study depressive symptoms, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression
Scale (CES-D; 26) was used, and is a 20-item self-report screening tool to measure depression
symptoms to identify at risk or probable alcohol use and abuse in these women.
Anxiety levels were measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), which is the
most widely used self-report anxiety screening tool for adults, and results determine at risk
or probable cases of anxiety.
The results of the study included that pregnant Native Hawaiian women had substantially
higher rates of smoking compared to their Asian and Caucasian counterparts, with rates being
35%, 5%, and 10% respectively. Also, it is found that Native Hawaiian women reported
significantly higher rates of cigarette smoking during pregnancy in comparison to Asian and
Caucasian women.

What is your initial critical appraisal of the research study?

The research includes all portions of a qualitative research study. The hypothesis is not clearly
identified; however, it is covertly implicated that the hypothesis is that there is a cultural
difference between Asian, Caucasian and Native Hawaiian women in regards to mental health
during and after pregnancy that needs to be identified and studied. The limitations are clearly
stated, which include, but is not limited to: there were limited amounts of study subjects in the
study per ethnicity; the reliance on self-reporting might be an issue, as women may be afraid

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to openly discuss issues of drug use and abuse to a researcher; diagnostic interviews were not
conducted, therefore findings should be approached with caution; and the study fails to
examine the quality of substance abuse, depression and anxiety during pregnancy. The
Maternal & Child Health Journal published the article in 2005, indicating a credible source of
information, although quite dated. The study is strong, in that it does clearly implicate its
limitations and warrants for further research.

Myra Cabus

References
Goebert, D., Morland, L., Frattarelli, L., Onoye, J., & Matsu, C. (2007). Mental health during
pregnancy: a study comparing Asian, Caucasian and Native Hawaiian women. Maternal &
Child Health Journal, 11(3), 249-255.