ABSTRACT
This is an introductory report for the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), a brief psychological self-report symptom scale. The BSI was developed from its longer parent instrument, the SCL-90-R, and psychometric evaluation reveals it to be an acceptable short alternative to the complete scale. Both test--retest and internal consistency reliabilities are shown to be very good for the primary symptom dimensions of the BSI, and its correlations with the comparable dimensions of the SCL-90-R are quite high. In terms of validation, high convergence between BSI scales and like dimensions of the MMPI provide good evidence of convergent validity, and factor analytic studies of the internal structure of the scale contribute evidence of construct validity. Several criterion-oriented validity studies have also been completed with this instrument.
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Psychological Tests , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Psychometrics , Psychophysiologic Disorders/diagnosis , Self DisclosureSubject(s)
Outpatient Clinics, Hospital , Physician Executives/psychology , Psychiatric Department, Hospital , Psychiatry/education , Clinical Competence , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Humans , Interview, Psychological , Medical Staff, Hospital/psychology , Mental Disorders/therapy , Psychotherapy , Surveys and Questionnaires , WorkforceSubject(s)
Outpatient Clinics, Hospital , Psychiatric Aides/education , Adult , Curriculum , Female , Humans , Male , Maryland , School Admission Criteria , WorkforceABSTRACT
The interrater reliability and validity of brief interview rated measures of psychosocial adjustment were examined in four sequential studies. A total of 25 videotaped interviews with cancer patients were rated by 105 social workers, nurses, physicians, and specialists in psychosocial oncology. The Rating of Psychosocial Function (RPF), Coping Adequacy Rating (CAR), and Global Adjustment to Illness Scale (GAIS) were used by various rating groups with an indication of interrater agreement. Agreement on ratings was not influenced by the length of interview (15 vs. 30 minutes) but appeared to the affected by the structure of the interview and profession of the raters. All three instruments showed a measure of matching with clinical impressions in addition to demonstrating a measure of both convergent and divergent construct validation. The GAIS was chosen as most adequately reflecting their clinical impression by a majority of raters. With a degree of training, any of the three instruments could be used to assess psychosocial adjustment with some measure of confidence in the validity of the rating.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Neoplasms/psychology , Social Adjustment , Attitude of Health Personnel , Clinical Competence , Humans , Interview, Psychological , Psychological TestsSubject(s)
Ileum/surgery , Jejunum/surgery , Obesity/psychology , Obesity/therapy , Adult , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
The present study examined the prescription practices concerning psychotropic drugs in 5 major oncology centers over a 6 month period. During the survey period 1579 patients were admitted to the collaborating institutions, and 51% of them were prescribed at least one psychotropic medication. Hypnotics were the most frequently prescribed drugs, accounting for 48% of total prescriptions, followed by anti-psychotics at 26% and anti-anxiety agents at 25%. Anti-depressant drugs accounted for only 1% of psychotropic prescriptions. Analysis of prescription rationales revealed that 44% of the psychotropic prescriptions were written for sleep, while 25% were given for nausea and vomiting; approximately 17% were attributed to psychological distress, and 12% were associated with diagnostic medical procedures. The overall rate of prescription was approximately 2 psychotropic drugs per patient per admission, with only 2% of prescriptions resulting in chart-documented side effects. At the level of individual compounds, 3 distinct drugs accounted for 72% of total prescriptions--flurazepam (33%), prochlorperazine (21%), and diazepam (17%).
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders/drug therapy , Neoplasms/psychology , Psychotropic Drugs/therapeutic use , Anti-Anxiety Agents/therapeutic use , Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use , Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use , Drug Prescriptions , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Humans , Hypnotics and Sedatives/therapeutic use , Male , Mental Disorders/complications , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/complications , Neoplasms/drug therapyABSTRACT
Thirty-five women with metastatic breast cancer received a battery of baseline psychological tests; results were correlated with length of survival. Patients who died in less than one year from baseline were categorized as short-term survivors, while patients who lived for one year or longer were assigned to the long-term survivor group. The long-term survivors were more symptomatic overall, with particular elevations on measures of anxiety and alienation, and substantially higher levels of dysphoric mood (eg, depression, guilt) than the short-term survivors. Short-term survivors revealed significantly lower levels of hostility, with higher levels of positive mood. Treating oncologists perceived the long-term survivors to show significantly poorer adjustment to their illnesses than the short-term survivors, and an interviewer's ratings indicated that long-term survivors had significantly poorer attitudes toward their physicians. Measures of clinical status and demographic data revealed few differences between the two groups.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Breast Neoplasms/psychology , Affective Symptoms/diagnosis , Affective Symptoms/etiology , Anxiety/diagnosis , Breast Neoplasms/mortality , Depression/diagnosis , Female , Hostility , Humans , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Metastasis , Physician-Patient Relations , Psychological Tests , Social AlienationABSTRACT
The present report summarizes work to date on the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI), a multidimensional measure of human sexual functioning. We discuss the rationale for the test as well as the selection of the primary domains of measurement. Reliability coefficients for the various subtests are given, and a review section on validation studies is provided, including a factor analysis, predictive validation, and discriminant function analyses. Prototypic clinical profiles are also provided for several of the major types of sexual dysfunction.
Subject(s)
Psychological Tests , Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/psychology , Adult , Ejaculation , Erectile Dysfunction/psychology , Female , Gender Identity , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Orgasm , Sexual Behavior , Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/diagnosis , Transsexualism/psychologyABSTRACT
The present study sought to assess the influence of gender and previous sexual experience regarding the structure of the basic sexual behavior hierarchy. Results indicated that both gender and previous experience have significant effects. Overall, gender appeared to have a less substantial effect than previous experience, being more noteworthy for the similarities manifest between males and females than the few differences observed. Previous experience displayed a substantial effect, particularly in the upper portion of the hierarchy, with like-experienced groups showing marked similarity in their hierarchy patterns. Several significant gender-experience interactions were found regarding oral-genital behaviors, and a general trend was observed for females indicating negative appreciation from pre to postexperience. Males revealed positive appreciation from pre to postexperience on all but the most basic sexual behaviors. Conclusions were to the effect that while both variables influenced the hierarchy, effects were complex, and often mediated by additional factors.
