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PubMed2004

Adaptation of functional outcomes of sleep questionnaire (FOSQ) to Turkish population.

Turkish version of functional outcomes of sleep questionnaire (FOSQ.tr) was examined for its psychometric properties in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS). The FOSQ was translated into Turkish using a forward-backward translation. For the psychometric evaluation, 73 consecutive patients were selected along with 73 control subjects. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity were investigated. Values of Cronbach's alpha for the total FOSQ.tr (alpha= 0.92) and its sub-scales (alpha= 0.76-0.80) suggest that the questionnaire was consistent internally. Test-retest reliability of the FOSQ.tr was significant for the total score (r= 0.7) and the sub-scales apart from social outcome (r= 0.5 to 0.8, all p< 0.01). FOSQ.tr correlated moderately with Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), with coefficients ranging from r= -0.5 to -0.62, (all p< 0.05) for the sub-scales, and r= -0.64 (p< 0.01) for total score. Discriminant analysis showed that FOSQ.tr could significantly distinguish the patients from normal subjects (p< 0.03). The psychometric properties of the FOSQ.tr suggest that it is a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of the impact of disorders of excessive sleepiness on daily behaviour.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2001

The validation of a nursing nutritional assessment tool for use on acute elderly wards.

BACKGROUND: Elderly people are at great risk of poor nutritional status. Identifying those at nutritional risk is complex owing to its multifactorial nature and highlights the need for an easily administered nutritional screening tool. AIM: To test the robustness of a tool used to identify those patients who require further dietetic assessment. METHOD: The tool was tested on an 'acute elderly' ward to assess its statistical robustness, i.e. test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, internal consistency and factor structure, concurrent and construct validity. The research was carried out by a dietitian and two nurses on an overall sample of 185 consecutive admissions. RESULTS: Test-retest results reflect that the tool is capable of yielding consistent assessments over time. Inter-rater reliability results revealed that when comparisons of agreement between nurses and dietitians were examined there was consistent disagreement. Internal consistency was found to be low but the rotated factor analysis suggested a relationship between the items in the tool. Concurrent validity was exhibited with body mass index, albumin and American Nutrition Risk Index only. Construct validity was not sufficiently exhibited with any of the measures used. CONCLUSION: The tool has not demonstrated reliability as determined by the statistical measures and hence validity at this stage. Issues which need to be addressed to allow this tool to be used appropriately are discussed.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Colombian validation of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index].

INTRODUCTION: Many studies establish an elevated frequency of sleep disorders. The prevalence during life is of 35%. This situation has lead to develop a great number of instruments with the intention to evaluate better these alterations. Nevertheless, the majority lacks a suitable and national validation. Buysse et al designed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) considered the most able instrument to establish the quality of the sleep. This has been used and validated widely. Nor it exists a version validated to the Castilian for Colombia, nor similar instruments that allow making studies in sleep. AIM: Validation of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index in Colombia (ICSP-VC). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Experts consensus for face validity, pilots studies for evaluating understanding of the questionnaire, with double interview method. Evaluation of internal consistency. RESULTS. Internal consistency was Cronbach's alpha = 0.78. There were different scores between subjects that mentioned some subjective sleep disturbance (U Mann Whitney z = -5.635, p = 0.000), between them that qualify as 'so bad' or not their sleep quality (U Mann Whitney z = -2.90, p = 0.0037), between they that were consuming or not, habitually hypnotics (U Mann Whitney z = -4.289, p = 0.0000) and between they that referred conciliation insomnia or not (U Mann Whitney z = -4.769, p = 0.0000). There were clinical differences in ICSP-VC scores between adult older and younger (U Mann Whitney z = -1.926, p = 0.0542). There were not differences by gender. Subjects with extreme values scores had clinical differences with others. CONCLUSIONS: ICSP-VC is a valid version of PQSI useful for studying sleep disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Design, format, validity and reliability of multiple choice questions for use in nursing research and education.

Multiple choice questions are used extensively in nursing research and education and play a fundamental role in the design of research studies or educational programs. Despite their widespread use, there is a lack of evidence-based guidelines relating to design and use of multiple choice questions. Little is written about their format, structure, validity and reliability of in the context of nursing research and/or education and most of the current literature in this area is based on opinion or consensus. Systematic multiple choice question design and use of valid and reliable multiple choice questions are vital if the results of research or educational testing are to be considered valid. Content and face validity should be established by expert panel review and construct validity should be established using 'key check', item discrimination and item difficulty analyses. Reliability measures include internal consistency and equivalence. Internal consistency should be established by determination of internal consistency using reliability coefficients while equivalence should be established using alternate form correlation. This paper reviews literature related to the use of multiple choice questions, current design recommendations and processes to establish reliability and validity, and discusses implications for their use in nursing research and education.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed1999

Developing a quality of life measure for Chinese patients with diabetes.

The objective of this study was to develop a Chinese version of the Diabetes Quality of Life measure (DQOL), appropriate for elderly Chinese immigrants with Type 2 diabetes, and evaluate its reliability and validity through psychometric testing. Using an established diabetes quality of life measure, we employed focus groups to modify the instrument to be appropriate for an elderly Chinese population. The revised version was forward translated and back translated by four individuals independently. A review committee consensus determined the final version, which was pre-tested on five lay people to assess the equivalence of meaning. Elderly Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes (n = 70) attending either an endocrinology or family practice clinic near Toronto were recruited to complete the Chinese version of the DQOL. Reliability of the instrument was assessed by evaluating internal consistency, item-internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Divergent validity was assessed to show that the instrument could detect worsening quality of life associated with diabetic complications. The Chinese version of the DQOL consists of 42 items and three scales including satisfaction, impact and diabetes-related worry. The DQOL and its three scales had high degrees of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.76-0.92) and excellent test-retest reliability (Pearson correlation = 0.94-0.99). All items had high correlation with their hypothesized scale with the exception of three items. Divergent validity of the instrument was demonstrated. This study provides evidence for the reliability and validity of this Chinese version of the DQOL measure for an elderly Chinese population with Type 2 diabetes. This instrument may be used in future studies to better understand the quality of life of the Chinese population with diabetes.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Validity and reliability of SRSI and SF-36 in Japanese patients with scoliosis.

We have examined the validity and reliability of Japanese SRS-24 and SF-36 in patients with scoliosis. 278 patients with scoliosis were recruited. Their average age was 24.8 years (range 17-84 years) and 83% of patients had idiopathic curves. The major coronal curve averaged 43 degrees (range 10 degrees -114 degrees). Questionnaires surveyed were SRS-24 and SRS-22, and SF-36. Only domains applicable to untreated patients were analyzed. Scale level analysis was evaluated by the ceiling and floor effect. The Cronbach alpha and item-scale correlations were calculated as representatives of internal consistency reliability and item internal consistency, respectively. Most domains of SF-36 had large ceiling effects. Both the SRS questionnaires had limited ceiling/floor effects. SRS-22 had a better internal consistency than SRS-24. Low item-scale correlations (<0.25) were found in question 14, 15, and 18 of SRS-22. The Japanese version of SRS-22 was the most useful measure for patients with scoliosis. However, some questions have low item-scale correlations, lowering reliability of the Function domain.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Measuring clinical status in cystic fibrosis: internal validity and reliability of a modified NIH score.

We examined measurement properties of the NIH Clinical Score for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) as an index of disease status. This score is being employed as a research tool for defining study populations and as an outcome measure, yet there are no published data on its reliability or how its items contribute to the overall measure of disease status. Criteria for scoring some items in the original index lack specificity. In this study, we used a modified score to have more clearly specified criteria, while retaining the original weightings and structure. For 200 patients with CF in two centers, we analyzed the total NIH Score and its subscores for internal consistency, interrater reliability, and factor analysis. Internal consistency indicates how inter-related the items are. The pulmonary subscore and overall score had fairly high internal consistency. However, the general subscore had low internal consistency, suggesting that the items are not measuring a single element of disease status and should not be added. Factor analysis provides additional information on the underlying structure and relationships among items. Five factors (groups of items) were identified accounting for 85% of the consistent variance of 14 items. These factors were designated by items accounting for most of their variance: general pulmonary, weight, disability, psychosocial, and acute infiltrate. While inter-rater reliability for the overall index was high, individual items showed less agreement. The results indicate that most of the variability in the NIH Score is attributable to pulmonary items in the first factor. The analyses suggest a new scoring structure for the NIH Score; the general subscore items do not contribute to the reliability or account for significant variance. Therefore, they will likely require further refinement or be eliminated.

Child↗

PubMed2004

Development of a short form of the Treatment Evaluation Inventory for acceptability of psychological interventions.

The Treatment Evaluation Inventory of Kazdin, French, and Sherick is a 19-item measure of the perceived acceptability of behavioural treatments. Development of two brief forms was based on data from two sources. For Study 1, data from 218 completed questionnaires were used to develop internally consistent brief scales. In Study 2 internal consistency and the validity of the brief forms were estimated for a set of 131 questionnaires. Item reduction was achieved by analysis of item-total minus item correlations. Brief forms with 3, 6, 9, and 12 items were proposed. Their internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) and construct validity were based on correlations of scores on each short form with the full scale scores and on comparing means of different forms. Discriminant validity was based on the difference between two groups (estimated effect size 0.7). Scores for all forms showed high internal consistency and correlated highly with total scale scores. Only the 12-item brief scale yielded mean scores similar to the full scale. The 3-item form could be used as a quick screen, and the 12-item form for more intensive purposes as it is most similar to the full-scale.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Towers of Hanoi and London: is the nonshared variance due to differences in task administration?

Although it has been assumed that the Tower of Hanoi and Tower of London are more or less interchangeable tasks dependent on executive function, a series of studies in our laboratory have indicated substantial nonshared variance between the performances on the two tasks. The purpose of the present study was to examine how much methods of administration, such as number of trials per problem, contribute to this nonshared variance. A new one-trial version of the Tower of Hanoi was developed to be identical to the Tower of London in four procedural characteristics. The one-trial version of the Tower of Hanoi was administered to 39 normal adults along with the traditional Tower of Hanoi and the Tower of London-Revised in two test sessions 5-7 weeks apart. The correlations between the two tasks were in the same range as found previously with the traditional task, indicating that administration differences do not account for the nonshared variance between the tasks. A reliability analysis of the one-trial tasks showed poor internal consistency. Also, the internal consistency of the 6-trial tower was artificially inflated by aspects of the administration and scoring procedures. Moreover, this task exhibited a ceiling effect on repeated testing. These results suggest that it would be of value to redesign the one-trial Tower of Hanoi systematically to increase its reliability and, potentially, its validity as a measure of executive functions.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

The Comprehensive Childhood Maltreatment Inventory: early development and reliability analyses.

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to develop a reliable measure of childhood maltreatment that could be used to evaluate retrospective memories among adults across a broad range of potentially abusive caregiver behaviors. METHOD: These behaviors were organized into 31 items that query age at onset, frequency across 4 developmental periods, relationship of the perpetrator(s), and respondents' perception of the experience. Additional factors directly relevant to each of the individual 4 categories of childhood maltreatment were also queried. RESULTS: Preliminary data collected from 95 college students, find the measure to have excellent test-retest reliability, and 2 of 4 subscales to possess adequate internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: Reasons for low internal consistency for the Physical Maltreatment and Physical Neglect categories and the relative importance of test-retest reliability as compared to internal consistency in a questionnaire of this type are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Validation of the hospital anxiety and depression scale and the psychological disorder among premature ejaculation subjects.

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a common sexual dysfunction among the general population. PE has often been associated with a psychological state of mind. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) can be used as an instrument to assess the emotional and psychological state. The present study was designed to assess the reliability and validity of the HADS in a Malaysian population. The validity and reliability were studied in subjects with and without PE. Test-retest methodology was used to assess the reliability whereas Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal consistency. In the control and the PE groups, the internal consistency was good and a high degree of internal consistency was observed for all 14 items. In the control group, the Cronbach's alpha values at baseline were from 0.811 to 0.834, whereas for retest, the Cronbach's alpha values were from 0.821-0.838 items. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was high for the control (0.797-0.868: baseline and 0.805-0.872: retest) and PE group (0.822-0.906: baseline and 0.785-0.887: retest). The high value of ICC and the internal consistency was due to high reliability and consistency of the items at 2-week interval. A degree of significance between the baseline and week-2 scores was observed across all items in the PE group but not in the control group. The HADS is a suitable, reliable, valid and sensitive instrument to measure the clinical change for anxiety and depression in the Malaysian population.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Development of a reliable and valid nutritional knowledge questionnaire for urban South African adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: We wanted to develop a valid and reliable nutritional knowledge test for urban South African adolescents who were participating in the Birth-to-Twenty cohort study. The questionnaire was intended for use every second year, from ages 13 to 14 y until age 20 y. METHODS: The initial steps involved the development of a conceptual framework and identification of nutritional concepts in collaboration with nutritional experts, and this defined the construct of the questionnaire. The South African national teaching curriculum objectives for nutritional education and other relevant issues were selected as the desired concepts, and most items were phrased in accordance with the recently developed South African Food-Based Dietary Guidelines. Thereafter, 140 items (questions) were developed and in turn assessed by an expert panel, and the result was that only 88 items remained. This was done to ensure content and face validity of the items. The 88 items were constructed into a questionnaire and piloted for appropriateness and understanding by adolescents, ages 13 to 14 y, as a means of assessing face validity by non-experts. The edited preliminary questionnaire (still with 88 items) was administered to a nutrition expert group (n = 71) versus a non-expert group (n = 82), referred to as sample 1, for the purposes of performing item analysis and assessing construct validity of the questionnaire. The result of the analysis, a 63-item questionnaire, was administered to adolescents at three school grade levels, 8 (n = 128), 10 (n = 143), and 12 (n = 98), referred to as sample 2, which was representative of the grades in which the Birth-to-Twenty group will be in when the questionnaire is administered. The questionnaire was administered to the sample to assess its content validity and internal consistency reliability. The final questionnaire had 60 items, and its construct, content, and internal consistency reliability were reassessed. RESULTS: The final 60-item questionnaire displayed a significant difference (P < 0.0001) in the mean scores of the expert and non-expert groups tested. It had internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.71, 0.79, and 0.82 for grades 8, 10, and 12 respectively, and an overall value of 0.77 for all groups combined. However, it was less than 0.7 for most grade 8 pupils and for all grades at a historically disadvantaged school. CONCLUSION: A nutritional knowledge questionnaire with construct, face, and content validities and internal consistency was developed for use in South African adolescents to evaluate their nutritional knowledge. Internal consistency was low in children at a disadvantaged school and those in grade 8 compared with multiracial groups at a multiracial school. It is recommended that pupils at disadvantaged schools be assisted by trained interviewers when taking the test.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Young and old adults' ability to use different standards to evaluate understanding.

In Experiment 1 we examined young (mean age = 22.88 years) and old (mean age = 70.79 years) adults' ability to evaluate their understanding of texts. We examined ability to detect nonsense words (a lexical standard), violations of prior knowledge (an external consistency standard), and inconsistent sentences (an internal consistency standard) that were nonadjacent in texts. Adults with more education detected more problems than less educated adults, and older adults were less able than young to use an internal consistency standard. No age differences were found for lexical and external consistency standards. In Experiment 2, older adults' (mean age = 71.02 years) ability to use an internal consistency standard of evaluation was affected by the amount of material intervening between inconsistent sentences, with hindered performance for nonadjacent inconsistencies. This was not true for younger adults (mean age = 22.59 years). Results are discussed in terms of older adults' possible retrieval difficulty and failure to regulate comprehension.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Refinement of the SRS-22 Health-Related Quality of Life questionnaire Function domain.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational case series. OBJECTIVES: To improve the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) questionnaire Function domain internal consistency for patients younger than 18 years. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: During English validation as well as Spanish and Turkish transcultural adaptation studies, low internal consistency of the Function domain was discovered for patients younger than 18 years. The problem was traced to questions 15 (relating to financial considerations) and 18 (relating to going out with friends). Otherwise, the SRS-22 HRQL questionnaire has been shown to be valid and has been successfully translated into Spanish and Turkish. METHODS: Based on existing data, question 18's stem and responses were revised without changing its content and added to the SRS-22 questionnaire. Question 15 remained unchanged, and the effect of inclusion or exclusion on domain score was determined. During a 3-month period, the questionnaire was completed by 111 outpatients, including four groups: idiopathic scoliosis age < 18 years (n = 37), idiopathic scoliosis age > or = 18 years (n = 32), other spinal disorders age < 18 years (n = 17), and other spinal disorders age > or = 18 years (n = 25). RESULTS: As a result of the revision of question 18, the Function domain internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha, for patients age <18 years was increased from 0.67 to 0.78 for patients with idiopathic scoliosis and from 0.60 to 0.80 for patients with other spinal disorders. Domain internal consistency remained high, 0.77 to 0.96 for all the other domain-patient groupings. Removal of question 15 slightly improved Function domain internal consistency for idiopathic scoliosis patients < 18 years old and slightly decreased it for patients < 18 years old with other spinal conditions. CONCLUSION: With a minor revision of question 18 (related to going out) the internal consistency of the SRS-22 Function domain has been improved in idiopathic scoliosis patients < 18 years of age. Deletion of question 15 (related to financial considerations) has a variable, small effect depending on patient group. Retention of question 15 is recommended unless a cultural variable, such as differences in healthcare payment schemes, substantially lowers domain psychometric properties.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Two approaches to measuring quality of life in the HIV/AIDS population: HAT-QoL and MOS-HIV.

OBJECTIVES: Reduce the number of HIV/AIDS-Targeted Quality of Life (HAT-QoL) items, assess psychometric performance of the shortened HAT-QoL, and compare psychometric performance of HAT-QoL to that of Medical Outcomes study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV). DESIGN/SUBJECTS: Convenience sample of 215 cross-sectionally studied seropositive individuals. METHODS: Subjects completed the HAT-QoL, MOS-HIV, and sociodemographic and disease-specific questions. HAT-QoL and MOS-HIV responses were entered, separately, into principal components analysis (PCA). Results from PCA, internal consistency and correlation assessments were used to aid the item removal process. Dimension characteristics (e.g., score distributions, internal consistency, scaling success rates, intercorrelations, construct validity) were evaluated. RESULTS: PCA of subjects' (80% male; 45% white; 62% gay/bisexual) responses revealed nine previously identified HAT-QoL dimensions. The measure was shortened by removing 12 items. Two HAT-QoL dimensions (HIV mastery and provider trust) had ceiling effects. All internal consistency coefficients were > 0.80, except those for sexual function (0.57) and medication concerns (0.57). HAT-QoL scaling success rates were > 90% for 7 of 9 dimensions, and a majority of dimensions showed minimal to low intercorrelations. Validity assessments indicated consistent, expected relationships (p < or = 0.05) for all dimensions except the medication concerns and provider trust dimensions. PCA indicated five MOS-HIV factors. Six of the 11 previously defined MOS-HIV dimensions--physical, role, social, and cognitive function, pain, and health transition--had substantial ceiling effects. MOS-HIV scaling success rates were > 90% for only 2 out of 8 evaluable dimensions; three dimensions had very low (40-73%) scaling success rates. Most MOS-HIV dimensions were moderately-to-highly intercorrelated. Validity assessments indicated consistent, expected relationships for all MOS-HIV dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Six dimensions of the shortened HAT-QoL instrument (overall function, disclosure worries, health worries, financial worries, HIV mastery, and life satisfaction) exhibited good psychometric properties, including limited ceiling effects, low dimension intercorrelations, high internal consistency, and evidence for construct validity. All multi-item MOS-HIV dimensions had high internal consistency and all dimensions revealed consistent evidence for construct validity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2003

Health-related quality of life in children assessed by their parents: evaluation of the psychometric properties of the CHQ-PF50 in two German clinical samples.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the German translation of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). Parents of two clinical samples were asked to rate the quality of life of their children using the German version of the CHQ. Item internal consistency (item-scale correlation) and internal consistency of scales were tested; quartiles and factor analysis were conducted. The results of the German clinical samples were compared with US clinical samples (t-test). The two clinical German sub-groups were compared using multivariate analysis (MANOVA). The psychometric testing of the CHQ showed good results. Internal consistency of the hypothesized scales were all higher than 0.70. The results of the factor analysis confirmed the results of the US norm sample: As expected, the subscales loaded on two factors explaining 57.4% of the total variance. The group comparison supported the discriminative properties of the CHQ. Preliminary psychometric findings support use of the German version of the CHQ. The next step will be the testing of healthy German samples and development of norm scores.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Evaluation of worry: validation of a French translation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire].

UNLABELLED: Excessive worry, which is the central feature of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), is recognized as an important clinical phenomenon with many negative consequences on people's health. For example, studies report that excessive worry is associated with higher frequencies of work absenteeism and medical consultations, increased risk of other anxiety disorders, depression, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It is thus imperative to develop effective measures to assess worry among adult. Until now, no measures were available in French for the practitioners and researchers to evaluate the tendency to engage in excessive and uncontrollable worry. One of the most frequently used questionnaires to assess worry in English is The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). This self-report measure has been widely studied and has shown excellent psychometric properties among the non-clinical and clinical populations. This manuscript presents the results of three studies evaluating the psychometric properties of a French Translation of the PSWQ, the Questionnaire sur les Inquiétudes de Penn State (QIPS). The first study includes the translation procedures used to create the French version of the questionnaire, the factorial structure, the internal consistency, the quality of the items, and the convergent validity among non-clinical participants. The second study examines the temporal stability, and the convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire. Finally, the third study investigates the internal consistency, the quality of the items, and the convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire among GAD patients. Study 1. This study describes the translation procedures used to create the QIPS, the factorial structure, the internal consistency, the quality of the items, and the convergent validity among non-clinical participants. The French version was translated by a group of clinical psychologists with the assistance of a professional translator and a linguist. A back translation procedure was also conducted. Finally, a pilot study confirmed the intelligibility of the questionnaire. French-speaking university students (N = 352) completed a battery of questionnaires during a lecture. The questionnaires were: The Questionnaires sur les Inquiétudes de Penn State, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Questionnaire, the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire, the Why Worry Questionnaire-Revised, and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised. The statistical analyses reveal that the QIPS shows an appropriate factorial structure, an excellent internal consistency and a very good convergent validity. This French Questionnaire thus seems to be suitable to assess the tendency to worry among the nonclinical population. Study 2. This second study examines the temporal stability, and the convergent and divergent validity of the QIPS. The sample includes 95 French-speaking University students who volunteered to complete the QIPS and the Beck anxiety Inventory. Two self-rating questions were also asked to evaluate the percentage of time spent worrying and to what extent does worrying causes a problem. Eighty-six students participated at the second administration of the questionnaires, four weeks later. The results indicate that the QIPS is very stable over time, thus supporting its temporal stability. Different correlations confirm its convergent and divergent validity. It is concluded that the QIPS is a suitable measure of worry in a non-clinical population. Study 3. This study investigates the internal consistency, the quality of the items, and the convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire among GAD patients. Seventy-seven GAD patients, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders, fourth edition (DSM IV), participated in this study. They completed the QIPS, the Worry Domains Questionnaire, The Worry and Anxiety Questionnaire, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and a daily diary of differents aspects of worry. The results reveal that the QIPS has an excellent internal consistency, a very good convergent and divergent validity. The QIPS thus seems to be suitable to assess the tendency to worry among GAD patients. CONCLUSION: The overall results presented in these studies confirm the excellent psychometric properties of the QIPS. This French questionnaire is a useful tool for clinicians and researchers to assess the tendency to worry among non-clinical and clinical populations.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Methods for assessing positive and negative symptoms.

Once adequate reliability has been achieved, however, it is important to document internal consistency and external validity. This chapter has summarized some of our work with the former topic. It suggests that the SANS has high internal consistency, while the SAPS is somewhat less internally consistent. What are the clinical and research implications of these results concerning internal consistency? On a superficial and statistical level, these results might be considered to suggest that the SAPS is less valid than the SANS, and perhaps that therefore it is not useful. On the other hand, it might be argued that it is not necessary to measure all the items on the SANS, since they are highly intercorrelated with one another and any one might 'stand in place' for the others. While in a sense statistically correct, these conclusions are probably misleading in both clinical and research settings. The SANS and SAPS were designed primarily as descriptive instruments that are useful for encoding symptoms commonly observed in psychiatric patients. Essentially, these results document clinical common sense. Patients with one negative symptom tend to have several others, while patients with one positive symptom do not necessarily have others. In other words, affective flattening seems to be related to alogia and avolition, but delusions and hallucinations do not necessarily occur together. In a comprehensive description of an individual patient, it is important to document all the types of symptoms that are present. This is particularly crucial in pharmacologic studies, where one may wish to document that some symptoms or groups of symptoms are more responsive to treatment than are other symptoms. For example, although anhedonia and alogia are statistically correlated with one another in a population of schizophrenics, in an individual patient anhedonia might be more responsive to treatment with a specific medication than is alogia. In spite of the high intercorrelations, it remains important in clinical settings to evaluate all relevant symptoms. The results of the factor analyses in this second study do not suggest as clean and strong a separation between positive and negative symptoms as was indicated in our original study. Factor analysis is notoriously sample-dependent, but there is no reason to suspect that the sample in the second study was different in any way from that of the first. Both involved consecutive admissions of DSM-III schizophrenics to the Iowa Psychiatric Hospital. The individuals doing the clinical evaluation did change, however.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Affective Symptoms↗