Multidimensionality of the Langner Symptom Survey and Replication of a Cutoff Score in Emerging Adults.

This study investigated the dimensionality of the Langner Symptom Survey and replicated a recent finding regarding a clinically validated cutoff score in emerging adults. Nine hundred thirteen (631 females and 282 males) students at a private university in the Midwestern United States participated online as part of a larger study and completed the Langner Symptom Survey and a demographic questionnaire. Results from exploratory principal components and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for both a six- and three-factor model of the Langner Symptom Survey, with the three-factor model offering marginally better confirmatory fit indices and greater parsimony of interpretation. A cutoff score of 5 denoting clinically significant psychological distress and need for treatment was supported through analysis of receiver-operating characteristic, sensitivity, specificity, and total classification accuracy based on psychological service utilization, and this result successfully replicated a recently published finding. The Langner Symptom Survey may function as a multidimensional measure of psychological distress and need for treatment in emerging adults that may need a lexical update.

Religious Integration and Psychological Distress: Different Patterns in Emerging Adult Males and Females.

This study examined differences between male and female emerging adults on low, moderate, and high levels of religious integration in relation to psychological distress. Participants were recruited from undergraduate courses at a religiously affiliated, Midwestern university and completed the integration scale of the Personal Religious Inventory and the Langner Symptom Survey. Due to significantly higher reports of religious integration in female participants, the sample was separated by sex. A significant, negative correlation between religious integration and psychological distress was found only for females. Similarly, females in the low religious integration group reported significantly higher levels of psychological distress than females high in religious integration, while no differences were found among males. This study corroborates previous research suggesting a general link between religion and mental health, but further suggests religious integration and psychological distress are uniquely related for males and females. Possible reasons and future areas of study are noted.