SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “scale development”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

[Theory-guided development and evaluation of a questionnaire concerning mental health].

In our study, the development of a Mental Health Questionnaire is described and this diagnostic instrument, which is based on historically important personality models, evaluated. Our purpose was to develop scales for Personal well-being, Regulatory competence, Self-actualization and Sense-finding ability. The items belonging to these theoretical constructs were analyzed both by a method of expert rating and statistically. A sample of n = 833 was tested (so-called healthy persons, patients with coronary heart disease [CHD], and patients with psychosomatic or neurotic disorders). Three of the mental health (MH) dimensions (except Sense-finding ability) were confirmed by expert rating. As expected, the following differences between the subgroups reached statistical significance: healthy persons had the highest values for MH, followed by CHD patients and psychosomatic/neurotic patients. Per item, CHD patients showed a characteristic pattern of answering. The combination of research methods we used in this study (i.e., theory-guided expert rating, statistical analysis, per item analysis) has provided results that may be important for further development of MH concepts.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1985

Prediction of rehabilitation status of young adults with cystic fibrosis.

This study determined the relationship between vocational and educational plans, work values, vocational choice, awareness of occupational requirements, intelligence, self-esteem, and clinical severity of patients with cystic fibrosis and their school and vocational status six years after hospital clinical evaluation. Initially, 52 adolescents were tested on the Goldberg Vocational Development Scale, the Army General Classification Test, Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and the Shwachman-Kulczycki System of Clinical Evaluation. Six years later each patient was sent a questionnaire to determine current school and employment. All data were subjected to intercorrelations (Pearson and biserial r) and analysis of variance. Eighteen survived and 15 responded. Ten were working in a variety of professional, semi-professional, and clerical jobs, two were unemployed due to cystic fibrosis, and three were still attending college. Of the 15, eight had graduated from college, nursing, or graduate school; one graduated from high school; three were full time students; and three were parttime students. The best predictors of school status were severity of illness (r = -0.55, p less than 0.01), and higher self esteem (r = 0.43, p less than 0.05). No single measure predicted work status. In a two-way analysis of variance using clinical severity and the average vocational development score, the main effect for severity (F = 4.19, p less than 0.05) was significant for student, but not for work status. It was concluded that the most powerful predictor of current student status was mild severity.

Achievement↗

PubMed1978

Evaluation of a patterning treatment for retarded children.

Three groups, each with 15 seriously retarded institutionalized children, were employed to evaluate a modification of the sensorimotor patterning treatment developed at the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP). The treatment group received a program modeled after the IAHP methods for approximately two hours per day, five days per week, for one year. For the same length of time, a matched motivational control group participated in activities with foster grandparents designed to create positive, success-oriented interactions to improve self-esteem and feelings of efficacy. A no treatment group continued to receive the standard care of the institution, which was enlightened and resident-oriented. A wide variety of behavioral measures were employed, including the IAHP Developmental Profile, IQ, motor and language development scales, and measures of affective, social, and maladaptive behaviors. On the majority of the measures there were no differences in posttest performance among any of the three groups. In no case did the pattern of change of the treatment group differ from that of its crucial comparison, the motivation group. However, all three groups showed some improvement in performance between the beginning and end of the study. It was concluded that the patterning treatment investigated in this study cannot be recommended for seriously retarded children.

Academies and Institutes↗

PubMed1983

[Psychomotor disorders in psychiatric patients as a possible basis for new approaches in differential diagnosis and therapy. I. Results of initial studies in depressed and schizophrenic patients].

Tests that have rarely been used up to now in the psychomotor examination of psychiatric patients have been put together in accordance with our preliminary investigations to form a broader, standardized battery. With this new battery, which consists of the motorische Leistungsserie, a modified version of the Lincoln-Oseretzky motor development scale and the motor subtest of the Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery, a study has been carried out on 15 schizophrenics not actually treated with drugs, 15 endogenous and 15 non-endogenous depressed persons and 15 healthy controls. With the results of such a psychomotor "profile", measured over all items, psychotic patients can be clearly separated from the non-endogenous depressed patients and healthy controls. No significant differences have been found between non-endogenous depressed patients and healthy controls. These results are basically in agreement with many single findings in the literature. Results based on a broader battery for the investigation of psychomotor abilities in psychiatric patients could be of value in difficult differential-diagnostic problems and ought therefore to be studied further. In addition, the movement disturbances in psychotic patients, which have been measured by a broader standardized battery, could be the starting point in the development of specific psychomotor training programmes, which could improve the efficiency of conventional gymnastic and ergotherapeutic treatment methods. In this direction too, further studies would be useful and are indicated.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Patterns of mental development among young, middle-class Jamaican children.

This study looked at the performance on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales of 149 middle-class children, aged 6-60 months, from three suburban neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica. Their mean DQs were higher than the English standardisation sample. The high scores below 2 years were similar to those reported from black children elsewhere. After 2 years the scores fell into the general range reported for middle-class children from other countries. The children had relatively high hearing and speech scores and low performance scores. Girls scored higher than boys, but birth order and maternal age were not associated with DQs.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2000

Structured latent growth curves for twin data.

We describe methods to fit structured latent growth curves to data from MZ and DZ twins. The well-known Gompertz, logistic and exponential curves may be written as a function of three components - asymptote, initial value, and rate of change. These components are allowed to vary and covary within individuals in a structured latent growth model. Such models are highly economical, requiring a small number of parameters to describe covariation across many occasions of measurement. We extend these methods to analyse longitudinal data from MZ and DZ twins and focus on the estimation of genetic and environmental variation and covariation in each of the asymptote, initial and rate of growth factors. For illustration, the models are fitted to longitudinal Bayley Infant Mental Development Scale data published by McArdle (1986). In these data, all three components of growth appear strongly familial with the majority of variance associated with the shared environment; differences between the models were not great. Occasion-specific residual factors not associated with the curve components account for approximately 40% of variance of which a significant proportion is additive genetic. Though the growth curve model fit less well than some others, they make restrictive, falsifiable predictions about the mean, variance and twin covariance of other (not yet measured) occasions of measurement.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1989

Home visiting of varying frequency and child development.

Two studies were made of home visiting and psychosocial stimulation with deprived urban children in Jamaica. The aim was to determine the relative effectiveness of different frequencies of visiting on the children's developmental levels and the feasibility of integrating the model into government primary health care services. Health paraprofessionals supervised by a nurse from a local health center conducted the intervention. In the first study, 152 children aged 6 to 30 months were assigned to groups visited biweekly, monthly, or not at all by area of residence. The biweekly group showed small but significant increases in scores on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (developmental quotient) and performance subscale compared with the monthly and control groups, whereas no benefit was shown in the Griffiths scores of the monthly group. In the second study, 58 children aged 16 to 30 months from the same neighborhoods were randomly assigned to weekly visited and control groups. The group visited weekly showed marked improvements in the performance and hearing and speech subscales as well as the developmental quotient scores. The results indicate that as the frequency of visiting increases from none through monthly and biweekly to weekly, the benefits increase as well.

Child Development↗

PubMed2004

Growth and diet quality are associated with the attainment of walking in rural Guatemalan infants.

The attainment of gross motor milestones is an important indicator of motor development in early life; however, little is known about factors affecting gross motor development in children from developing countries. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of nutritional factors (physical growth and dietary intake) and morbidity during the first year of life to the age of walking without support. Multivariate regression models were used to analyze data collected prospectively between 1991 and 1999 in rural Guatemala. Attainment of children's gross motor milestones was assessed monthly by trained field workers using the 17-milestone Gross Motor Development Scale, morbidity was assessed by biweekly recall, and dietary intakes were measured at 9 and 12 mo of age using repeated 24-h dietary recalls. Median age of walking was 15 mo (range 10-24 mo; n = 174) with no differences by gender. Models were adjusted for birth order, gender, gestational age, maternal age and education, socioeconomic status, and community. Growth in length (-0.57 +/- 0.27 mo length for age Z-score; P = 0.04) and weight (-0.54 +/- 0.19 mo weight for age Z-score, P = 0.005) during the first year of life, rather than size at birth, predicted age of walking. Animal protein intake from complementary foods, while low (mean < 1 g/d) overall, was positively associated with earlier age of walking (P = 0.02). Morbidity during infancy was not associated with age of walking. These findings indicate the importance of prevention of postnatal growth retardation and improvement of diet quality for children's gross motor development.

Birth Order↗

PubMed2006

[Development of an evaluation instrument for subjects related to death].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an evaluation instrument integrated and interdisciplinary death education for the human service areas such as nursing, social welfare, and education and to test the reliability and validity of it. METHOD: The subjects used to verify the instrument's reliability and validity were 407 students who were enrolled in the departments of nursing, social welfare, and education in universities located in Seoul, Pusan, Daegu, and Daejeon. The data was collected from April to May, 2005, and was analyzed by SPSS/WIN 12. RESULT: A factor analysis was conducted. Items with over a .40 factor loading and over a 1.0 eigen value were selected. Nine identified factors were learning about death, role of professionals, personal attitudes, hospice care, ethics and legal issues, death and dying, spiritual aspect of death, transcultural aspect of death, and multidisciplinary theory of death. The instrument consisted of 44 items and the reliability was a cronbach's of .953. CONCLUSION: Based on the study results, the content scale developed in this study was identified as a tool with a high degree of reliability and validity.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

[Long-term socioeconomic outcome of lumbar disc microsurgery].

Lumbar disc surgery is frequently performed but only few long-term outcome studies have been published. To assess the socioeconomic long-term outcome after lumbar disc surgery this study was performed using the Functional Economic Rating scale developed by Prolo et al. in 1986. The study group, mailed a questionnaire, consisted of 663 patients (18 to 60 years) operated on in 1983 or 1984. 23 patients (3.5%) died in the follow-up period. 406 (66% male and 34% female) patients answered the questionnaires (61%), therefore being eligible for further investigation. Mean age at the time of operation was 43 +/- 9.5 years. Preoperatively 29% of patients did sedentary work, 46% were employed in less strenuous and 25% in strenuous occupations. A motor deficit was present in 59% of patients preoperatively. In 51% the L4/5 level and in 38% the L5/S1 level was operated; 5% were operated in more than one level. In 45% an intraspinal sequester was found intraoperatively. Intra- and postoperative complications occurred in 14 patients (complication rate 3.4%). Six weeks after surgery all patients were examined in our outpatient department. 93% were more or less relieved of their complaints. 10 years after lumbar disc surgery a good outcome defined as Prolo scale 8-10 was achieved in 38%, a moderate outcome (Prolo scale 6-7) in 40% and a poor outcome (Prolo scale < 5) in 22%, respectively. Patients with strenuous occupations had a significantly (p < 0.001) less favorable outcome than patients with less strenuous or sedentary occupations. 32% were able to work in the previous profession with no restrictions. 42% were able to work part time at the previous occupation or with limited status and 9% had to change their profession. 17% were not able to gain any occupation postoperatively and retired. Vocational consequences depended on the preoperative type of occupation. 54% of patients with strenuous occupations had to change the profession or to retire compared to 15% of patients with sedentary occupations. During the 10-year follow-up period, 125 patients (31%) underwent at least another lumbar disc operation 4.8 +/- 3.8 years after their first surgery. Recurrence at the same level and the same side occurred in 14%. Reoperated patients had a significantly (p < 0.001) less favorable outcome than patients not operated on again. The results of this study indicate the recommendation of a prolonged postoperative course of treatment, especially in patients with strenuous occupations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Early diagnosis and secondary prevention of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A total of 33 young boys (mean age 3.4 years) with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and 21 normal controls (mean age 3.5 years) were assessed using the Griffiths's mental development scales and the Reynell language scales. The boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy were significantly developmentally delayed when compared with the control group. The developmental delay was most pronounced in locomotor function and language. There was no significant difference in social class distribution. Early diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy is of vital importance if secondary cases within families are to be prevented. While diagnosis is still unacceptably late in most cases, it can be improved if all boys with this pattern of developmental delay are screened for Duchenne muscular dystrophy by measurement of creatine kinase activity.

Child↗

PubMed2005

Poor predictive validity of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development for cognitive function of extremely low birth weight children at school age.

OBJECTIVE: The Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition (BSID II) are commonly used to assess outcomes of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. We sought to assess the predictive validity of the BSID II Mental Developmental Index (MDI) for cognitive function at school age. DESIGN/METHODS: Of 330 ELBW infants admitted in 1992-1995, 238 (72%) survived to the age of 8 years, of whom 200 (84%) were tested at both 20 months' corrected age (CA) and 8 years. Mean birth weight was 811 g, mean gestational age was 26.4 weeks, 41% were boys, and 60% were black. Measures included the BSID II at 20 months' CA and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) Mental Processing Composite (MPC) at 8 years' postnatal age. BSID II MDI and MPC scores were compared and the predictive validity calculated for all 200 ELBW children and for the 154 ELBW neurosensory-intact subgroup. Predictors of stability or change in cognitive scores were examined via logistic regression adjusting for gender and sociodemographic status. RESULTS: For all ELBW children, the mean MDI was 75.6 +/- 16 versus a mean KABC of 87.8 +/- 19. For the neurosensory-intact subgroup, the mean MDI was 79.3 +/- 16 and the mean KABC was 92.3 +/- 15. Rates of cognitive impairment, defined as an MDI or KABC of <70, dropped from 39% at 20 months' CA to 16% at 8 years for the total ELBW population and from 29% to 7% for the neurosensory-intact subgroup. The positive predictive value of having an MPC of <70 given an MDI of <70 was 0.37 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27, 0.49) for all ELBW infants, 0.20 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.35) for the neurosensory-intact subgroup, and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.77) for the neurosensory-impaired subgroup. The negative predictive values were 0.98, 0.99, and 0.85 for the 3 groups, respectively. Neurosensory impairment at 20 months' CA predicted lack of improvement of cognitive function (odds ratio: 6.9; 95% CI: 2.4, 20.2). Children whose cognitive scores improved between 20 months and 8 years had significantly better school performance than those whose scores stayed at <70, but they did less well than those whose scores were persistently >70. CONCLUSIONS: The predictive validity of a subnormal MDI for cognitive function at school age is poor but better for ELBW children who have neurosensory impairments. We are concerned that decisions to provide intensive care for ELBW infants in the delivery room might be biased by reported high rates of cognitive impairments based on the use and presumptive validity of the BSID II MDI.

Blindness↗

PubMed1999

Detection of older people at increased risk of adverse health outcomes after an emergency visit: the ISAR screening tool.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a self-report screening tool to identify older people in the emergency department (ED) of a hospital at increased risk of adverse health outcomes, including: death, admission to a nursing home or long-term hospitalization, or a clinically significant decrease in functional status. DESIGN: Prospective (6-month) follow-up study of a cohort of ED patients aged 65 and older. SETTING: The EDs of four acute-care hospitals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling patients aged 65 and older who came to the EDs during the weekday shift over a 3-month recruitment period. Patients were excluded if they could not be interviewed either because of their medical condition or because of cognitive impairment and no other informant was available. MEASUREMENTS: Measures ascertained at the ED visit included: 27 self-report screening questions on social, physical, and mental risk factors; medical history; use of hospital services, medications, and alcohol; and the Older American Resources and Services (OARS) activities of daily living (ADL) scale. At follow-up, the OARS scale was readministered by telephone, and other adverse health outcomes were ascertained. RESULTS: Among 1673 patients who completed the follow-up measures, 488 (29.2%) had an adverse health outcome. Scale development and selection methods included logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic curves, and expert judgment. The proposed screening tool (ISAR) comprises six self-report questions on functional dependence (premorbid and acute change), recent hospitalization, impaired memory and vision, and polymedication. The tool performed well in the total cohort aged 65 and older, and in sub-groups defined by disposition (admitted or released from ED), language of questionnaire administration (French or English), information source (patient or other), and other characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The ISAR is a short self-report questionnaire that can quickly identify older patients in the ED at increased risk of several adverse health outcomes and those with current disability.

Aged↗

PubMed1986

Patterns of thought disorder on psychological testing. Implications for adolescent psychopathology.

One-hundred thirty-eight hospitalized adolescents exhibiting a broad range of psychopathology were divided into four groups based on the presence or absence of significant thought disorder on the Wechsler IQ (using Johnston and Holzman's Thought Disorder Index) and the Rorschach (using Exner's Schizophrenia Index). All subjects in the four IQ/Rorschach cross-classified groups (group A, low disordered IQ/low disordered Rorschach; group B, low disordered IQ/high disordered Rorschach; group C, high disordered IQ/high disordered Rorschach; group D, high disordered IQ/low disordered Rorschach) were rated as well on clinical symptomatology (using the Psychiatric Evaluation Form, a scale developed by Spitzer and Endicott). A multivariate analysis of variance comparing the means of the Psychiatric Evaluation Form variables for the four groups yielded significant interactions and significant main effects. The results portrayed a symptomatic picture of depression and acting out in group A, borderline-like traits in group B, psychosis in group C, and interpersonal difficulty in group D. These results are interpreted as support for the value of comparative measures of thought disorder in clinical evaluation. Further research to investigate the heretofore undescribed group D is recommended.

Acting Out↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring patients' medical care preferences: care seeking versus self-treating.

The objectives of this study were (1) to develop a scale to measure patient preferences for using medical care, (2) to assess the reliability and validity of the scale, and (3) to examine factors predicting preferences. Preferences were defined along a continuum, anchored by self-treating preferences and care-seeking preferences. A 9-item scale was developed and mailed to a random sample of 3500 Wisconsin consumers age 50 and older. Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine whether preferences were predicted by demographic and health status variables. A 56.9% usable response rate was obtained. The Medical Care Preference Scale was unidimensional and had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.879. Younger individuals, women, individuals in better health, and individuals from rural areas had significantly stronger self-treating preferences. Significant correlations between the preference scale and 2 measures of health care utlization provided evidence of predictive validity. Individuals with care-seeking preferences used an average of 1.98 more prescription drugs and had 0.50 more physician visits in the past month than individuals with self-treating preferences. The Medical Care Preference Scale should be a useful tool for research on health care utilization.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

SCIM--spinal cord independence measure: a new disability scale for patients with spinal cord lesions.

The Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) is a new disability scale developed specifically for patients with spinal cord lesions in order to make the functional assessments of patients with paraplegia or tetraplegia more sensitive to changes. The SCIM includes the following areas of function: self-care (subscore (0-20), respiration and sphincter management (0-40) and mobility (0-40). Each area is scored according to its proportional weight in these patients' general activity. The final score ranges from 0 to 100. This study was performed to evaluate the reliability of the SCIM and its sensitivity to functional changes in spinal cord lesion patients compared with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Thirty patients were included. Scores were recorded one week after admission and thereafter every month during hospitalization. Each area of function was assessed by a pair of staff members from the relevant discipline. The comparison of scores between each pair of rates revealed a remarkable consistency (r = 0.91-0.99; P < 0.0001; slope approximately 1; constant approximately 0). The total SCIM score (mean = 51, SD = 21) was lower than the total FIM score (mean = 87, SD = 23) owing to the difference in scale range structure and the relatively high cognitive scores of our patients; however, a relationship was noted between the scores of both scales (r = 0.85, P < 0.01). The SCIM was more sensitive than the FIM to changes in function of spinal cord lesion patients: the SCIM detected all the functional changes detected by the FIM total scoring, but the FIM missed 26% of the changes detected by the SCIM total scoring. The mean difference between consecutive scores was higher for the SCIM (P < 0.01). We conclude that the SCIM is a reliable disability scale and is more sensitive to changes in function in spinal cord lesion patients than the FIM. The SCIM when administered by a multidisciplinary team, may be a useful instrument for assessing changes in everyday performance in patients with spinal cord lesion.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1986

Physical and psychologic distress associated with adjuvant chemotherapy in women with breast cancer.

The incidence of physical toxicity and psychosocial effects associated with adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II breast cancer have been reported in previous studies. The purpose of this exploratory study was to quantify the degree of physical and psychologic distress experienced by patients and identify life-style changes. A semistructured interview was conducted with 78 subjects to elicit demographic data, distress, and life-style changes using the Symptoms Distress Scale (SDS), the Psychiatric Status Schedule (PSS), and questions and scales developed by the investigator. All subjects received adjuvant chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil with or without vincristine and prednisone) following primary treatment for breast carcinoma. Fifty subjects were currently on therapy and 28 had completed treatment. Fatigue was the most distressful physical symptom. Although physical distress was rated higher by subjects receiving treatment, generally all rating scores indicated only mild symptom distress. Subjects perceived more distress for the psychologic and emotional response to disease and treatment, and this persisted for women who completed therapy. Changes in role performance and daily activity were minimal.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

Interstrand pairing patterns in beta-barrel membrane proteins: the positive-outside rule, aromatic rescue, and strand registration prediction.

beta-Barrel membrane proteins are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. Little is known about how residues in membrane beta-barrels interact preferentially with other residues on adjacent strands. We have developed probabilistic models to quantify propensities of residues for different spatial locations and for interstrand pairwise contact interactions involving strong H-bonds, side-chain interactions, and weak H-bonds. Using the reference state of exhaustive permutation of residues within the same beta-strand, the propensity values and p-values measuring statistical significance are calculated exactly by analytical formulae we have developed. Our findings show that there are characteristic preferences of residues for different membrane locations. Contrary to the "positive-inside" rule for helical membrane proteins, beta-barrel membrane proteins follow a significant albeit weaker "positive-outside" rule, in that the basic residues Arg and Lys are disproportionately favored in the extracellular cap region and disfavored in the periplasmic cap region. We find that different residue pairs prefer strong backbone H-bonded interstrand pairings (e.g. Gly-aromatic) or non-H-bonded pairings (e.g. aromatic-aromatic). In addition, we find that Tyr and Phe participate in aromatic rescue by shielding Gly from polar environments. We also show that these propensities can be used to predict the registration of strand pairs, an important task for the structure prediction of beta-barrel membrane proteins. Our accuracy of 44% is considerably better than random (7%). It also significantly outperforms a comparable registration prediction for soluble beta-sheets under similar conditions. Our results imply several experiments that can help to elucidate the mechanisms of in vitro and in vivo folding of beta-barrel membrane proteins. The propensity scales developed in this study will also be useful for computational structure prediction and for folding simulations.

Amino Acids, Aromatic↗