Validity of self-reporting questionnaire and Rahim Anxiety Depression Scale

ABSTRACT

The Self-Reporting Questionnaire and Rahim Anxiety-Depression Scale are instruments used for screening minor psychiatric morbidity. The aim of this study is to test and compare their validity and reliability in a sample of Saudi adult diabetic patients. A random sample of 226 adult diabetics and an equal number of matched normal subjects were interviewed using a structured questionnaire including socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as the Self-Reporting Questionnaire and Rahim Anxiety-Depression Scale. A sub-sample of 49 patients were further clinically assessed according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Indices of inter-rater and test-retest reliability were in the range of 84% to 88%. Validity measures, reached by comparing the results of the screening tests with the blind clinical judgement of qualified psychiatrists, showed ranges of sensitivity between 70% and 94%, specificity between 72% and 84%, overall accuracy rate between 71% and 84%, and odds ratio between 6.3 to 48. Factor Analysis extracted 5 factors one of predominantly depressive symptoms, 2 of somatic complaints, one of psychic anxiety, and one of neurasthenic manifestations. Compared to Self-Reporting Questionnaire, Rahim Anxiety-Depression Scale gave consistently higher values in all tested indices of validity. The 3 instruments seem reliable and valid in screening psychiatric morbidity in diabetic patients. Rahim Anxiety-Depression Scale, which incorporates all the items of Self-Reporting Questionnaire and Somatization Sub-scale, was found superior to Self-Reporting Questionnaire alone, and it allowed for probing the severity, as well as the frequency, of reported symptoms