The drawing version of the pictorial representation of illness and self measure.

Objective: We developed and validated a drawing test version of the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM), a visual method to assess the perceived burden of illness and illness perception. Our aim was to test whether the drawing version would allow patients more freedom to deliberately vary both the size and position of circles symbolizing illness and individual coping resources, as well as gain more information about illness representations and available resources. Design and Main Outcome Measures: We applied the PRISM-D test to 500 patients with severe somatic diseases under active hospital treatment. We used Spielberger's State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck's Depression Inventory to assess convergent validity. Results: The PRISM-D test is applicable for inpatients and it can be used to explore their subjective representations. The modifications did not cause any loss in convergent validity as the Self-Illness Separation and the Illness Perception Measure are significantly correlated with levels of depression and anxiety. Conclusion: The drawing test enables more detailed measurement of suffering caused by illness, illness perception and more complex assessment of important factors in a patient's life. The test is adequate for clinical use as well as research among a wide range of somatic inpatients.

[Application of the PRISM-D drawing test to the complex examination of cancer-related emotional and cognitive representations]. / A PRISM-D rajzteszt alkalmazása a daganatos betegséggel összefüggo érzelmi és kognitív reprezentációk komplex vizsgálatára.

INTRODUCTION: Studying the psychological experience and the individual interpretation of a serious illness is an important task, as these factors can affect coping strategies and the psychological and somatic outcome of the illness. In clinical practice, to screen out maladaptive reactions and to effectively plan the psychological interventions, we need measuring tools that can be applied among a wide range of patients and can measure the illness-related emotional and cognitive representations in detail. AIM: The aim of our study was to examine the applicability of the drawing test version (PRISM-D) we developed from the Pictorial Representations of Illness and Self Measure test and its posttest in clinical practice among cancer patients. METHOD: We applied the Pictorial Representations of Illness and Self Measure drawing test and its posttest for 150 cancer patients undergoing hospital treatment. RESULTS: According to the quantitative data from the tests, patients underwent considerable suffering from illness, however, there was a large heterogeneity in the level of suffering in the sample. The majority of the patients in the sample associated negative feelings to their illness, such as distress, fear, sadness, uncertainty. As for illness representations, they interpreted their illness as a sign, a difficulty, a task to solve, a struggle, a loss, an adversity or a personal failure. The size and placement of the circle symbolizing the illness can be used to identify patient reactions to deny or understate illness as well as patients who experience their illness very seriously. This information is crucial in the understanding of illness behavior and the coping with illness. CONCLUSIONS: Our study has supported this test as a measuring tool which is well applicable to quickly gain complex information both in clinical practice and in research, to measure illness-related emotional and cognitive representations, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(48): 2021-2030.