Assessment最新文献

Parent report measures developed in the Western world are commonly used to assess children's mental health, but their cross-cultural comparability is questionable. The present study examines the use of anchoring vignettes to assess and adjust for bias in five countries: the United States, Mexico, Germany, China, and Russia. Parents (N = 500) rated their child's mental health and vignettes depicting internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in an online survey. Vignette ratings were used to assess bias and for rescaling. Cross-national comparisons of vignette scores revealed differences in the use of the scale range and overall level of vignette scores. Measurement invariance across countries improved after rescaling, resulting in weak invariance for internalizing and strong invariance for externalizing problem behavior. Rescaled scores revealed cross-national differences that were masked using the raw score. Results confirm the lacking cross-national comparability in parent reports of child mental health, and anchoring vignettes appear to be a useful tool for reducing bias.

Unlike depression sum scores, the underlying risk for depression is typically assumed to be normally distributed across the general population. To assess the true empirical shape of depression risk, we created a continuous-valued estimate of the latent depression density, using the Davidian-Curve Item Response Theory (DC-IRT) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohorts from 2005 to 2018 (n = 36,244 on the Nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9). We conducted simulations to investigate the performance of DC-IRT for large samples and realistic items. The method can recover complex latent-risk distributions even when they are not evident from sum scores. However, estimation accuracy for different sample sizes depends on the method of model selection. In addition to full-data analysis, random samples of a few thousand observations were drawn for analysis. The latent shape of depression was left-skewed and bimodal in both investigations, indicating that the latent-normality assumption does not hold for depression.

Health anxiety is an intricate part of illness anxiety and somatic symptom disorder. Based on convenience samples, two out of three available studies indicate that it is a dimensional rather than a categorical construct. Using two representative datasets, this study investigates whether previous results can be clarified. Conventional taxometric analyses as well as comparison curve fit indices (CCFI) profile analyses (MAMBAC and MAXSLOPE procedures) were calculated with two datasets of the German adult population assessing the Whiteley Index (WI-14, N = 2,072; WI-7, N = 2,498). Mean CCFIs indicated a dimensional structure for both the WI-7 (mean CCFI = 0.42, mean CCFI profile = 0.40) and the WI-14 (mean CCFI = 0.44, mean CCFI profile = 0.32). The results support and extend previous findings by strongly suggesting a dimensional distribution of health anxiety in the general population. Implications for research and practice comprise the adoption of a dimensional description of psychopathology as well as transdiagnostic treatment approaches.

Scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are frequently used to assess depression both in research and in clinical practice. The aim was to examine the validity of the PHQ-9 sum score by using Mokken scale analysis (Study I) and cognitive interviews (Study II) on the Icelandic version of PHQ-9. A primary care sample of 618 individuals was used in Study I. The results indicate that the PHQ-9 items are not close enough to perfectly unidimensional for their sum score to accurately order people on the depression severity dimension. In Study II, the sample consisted of 53 individuals, with 28 having a history of depression and 25 not. The findings reveal a number of issues concerning respondents' use of the PHQ-9. No systematic differences were found in the results of the two groups. The PHQ-9 sum score should thus be interpreted and used with great care. We provide scale revision recommendations to improve the quality of PHQ-9.

Recent work has identified fearlessness about suicide, rather than fearlessness about death, as more theoretically relevant in the assessment of capability for suicide and thus a more appropriate construct of measurement. The aim of the current project was to develop and validate a scale specifically assessing fearlessness about suicide. Across two studies, support for a 7-item, single-factor structure of the Fearlessness About Suicide Scale (FSS) emerged. The FSS factor structure demonstrated a good fit in the first study and was replicated in the second study. Measurement invariance was examined across those identifying as men and women and found to be comparable. The FSS also demonstrated test-rest reliability and good convergent and divergent validity in community and undergraduate samples. Overall, findings indicate that the FSS has a replicable factor structure that generalizes across those identifying as men and women and may better assess components of capability for suicide than existing scales.

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can be used to examine the dynamics of suicidal ideation in daily life. While the general acceptability and feasibility of EMA in suicide research has been established, further examination of potential iatrogenic effects (i.e., negative reactivity) and identifying those more likely to react negatively is needed. Participants (N = 82) with current suicidal ideation completed 21 days of EMA (4×/day) and filled in M = 78% (Med = 84%) of the EMA. No positive or negative affect reactivity was observed in EMA ratings over the study period. Retrospectively, most participants rated their experience as positive (69%); 22% indicated mood worsening, and 18% suicidal ideation reactivity. Those with more borderline personality traits, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and higher depressive, anxiety, and suicidal ideation symptoms, were more likely to report iatrogenic effects. In conclusion, while high compliance rates and lack of affect reactivity during EMA indicate that EMA is well tolerated in suicide research, a minority of participants may report subjective mood effects in retrospect.

Establishing normative data for questionnaires is essential for the accurate interpretation of scores, given that these norms can vary according to different subpopulations and treatment contexts. The purpose of this study was to establish norms for the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) among adults receiving higher levels of care (HLOCs) for the treatment of eating disorders. Participants were 2,283 people receiving treatment at the inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, or intensive outpatient levels of care. The EDE-Q was completed at admission. Patients with anorexia nervosa-restricting subtype (AN-R) had the lowest EDE-Q Global scores when compared with all other eating disorder diagnoses. When compared with intensive outpatient care, only those in residential treatment had higher EDE-Q Global scores. This study is among the first to describe norms for the EDE-Q in a large sample of adults receiving various HLOCs. Programs utilizing the EDE-Q to assess treatment outcomes can use these findings to aid people in interpreting their scores.

The current study sought to provide evidence for a measure of schizoid personality disorder (SZD PD) traits using the Five-Factor Model framework of personality. In the first study, undergraduate participants (n = 496) completed the Five-Factor Schizoid Inventory (FFZI) and other self-report measures. The first half of the sample was used to develop the FFZI, while the second half was used to validate it. The FFZI demonstrated excellent internal consistency, convergent validity with measures of SZD PD and hypothesized IPIP-NEO facets, and discriminant validity with other PDs and non-hypothesized IPIP-NEO facets. The second study recruited MTurk participants (n = 181) and demonstrated preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the FFZI in an online, community sample. Ultimately, these data suggest that the FFZI is a useful measure of SZD PD and provide further evidence that SZD PD can be conceptualized as a maladaptive extension of introversion traits.

Spirituality is an important aspect of treatment and recovery for substance use disorders (SUDs), but ambiguities in measurement can make it difficult to incorporate as part of routine care. We evaluated the psychometric properties of an adapted short-form version of the Spirituality Scale (the Spirituality Scale-Short-Form; SS-SF) for use in SUD treatment settings. Participants were adult patients (N = 1,388; M_age = 41.23 years, SD_age = 11.55; 68% male; 86% White) who entered a large, clinically mixed inpatient SUD treatment program. Factor analysis supported the two-dimensional structure, with factors representing Self-Discovery and Transcendent Connection. Tests of measurement invariance demonstrated that the scale was invariant across age and gender subgroups. The SS-SF exhibited convergent and concurrent validity via associations with participation in spiritual activities, hopefulness, life satisfaction, 12-step participation, and depressive symptoms. Finally, scores on the SS-SF were significantly higher at discharge compared to admission, demonstrating short-term sensitivity to change. These findings support use of the SS-SF as a concise, psychometrically sound measure of spirituality in the context of substance use treatment.