A psychometric evaluation of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale during pregnancy

The utility of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as a screening instrument for anxiety and depression during pregnancy was investigated. A maximum likelihood factor analysis was conducted on the HADS to determine its psychometric properties and utility in 100 women from two culturally diverse populations (UK and Uzbekistan) at 12-weeks and 34-weeks pregnancy. The findings suggest that the HADS lacks the internal reliability requirements of a clinical assessment tool in this population. There was little evidence found to suggest that the HADS measures two dimensions of anxiety and depression consistently and reliably. The findings from this study suggest that the HADS could not be recommended as a clinical screening tool for anxiety and depression in pregnant women. Further research in this area is both desirable and required.     

Crafting mosque-state relations through community-service work: the case of Yardam mosque in Kazan,Tatarstan

ABSTRACT

This contribution examines a symbiotic relationship between the state, represented by local government officials, and a mosque through a case study of the Yardam mosque in the central Russian region of Tatarstan. What in 2002 began as a community service-based project at a small mosque in the outskirts of Tatarstan’s capital Kazan, grew into a charitable foundation and a rehabilitation centre for the blind and disabled, housed under a newly-built mosque. The foundation is able to maintain its large-scale operations by forging strategic partnerships with local elites – local government officials and entrepreneurs – and by ensuring that the mosque’s leadership supports ‘traditional Islam.’ In turn, the local government showcases the mosque as a positive example of traditional Islam in Tatarstan: peaceful, community-service-oriented, and loyal to the state. As such, Yardam serves as a ‘desirable norm’ for the state and a real-life lesson for religious organisations: to be successful, their vision, mission, and work must be aligned with those of the state. Ultimately, the case of Yardam illustrates how Russia’s religious policy with the focus on ‘tradition’ can shape ‘mosque-state’ relations at the local level.