The aim of this study was to adapt the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) for Argentinean population. We conducted a linguistic adaptation of the instrument and an analysis of its psychometric properties. To assess the reliability of the scale, analysis of internal consis- tency was made through Cronbach’s alpha and temporal stability of the items was examined in two different subsamples. In addition, the scale’s validity was assessed, taking into account convergent validity, criterion validity by contrasting groups and factorial composition of the K10. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out to assess sensitivity, specificity and the area under the curve (AUC). The results of the present study indicate that the K10 is an adequate instrument presenting strong psychometric properties for screeningpsychological distress in our environment. / El objetivo del presente trabajo fue realizar la adaptación argentina de la Escala de Malestar Psicológico de Kessler (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-K10). Para esto, se llevó a cabo una adaptación lingüística del instrumento y un análisis de sus propiedades psicométricas. Para evaluar la confiabilidad de la escala, se efectuó un análisis de la consistencia interna y se examinó la estabilidad temporal de los ítems. La validez del instrumento fue evaluada teniendoen consideración diferentes indicadores de la misma. Se calcularon, a través de las curvas ROC, los niveles de sensibilidad, especificidad y el área bajo la curva (ABC) de la prueba. Los resultados indican que se puede contar con la K10 como un instrumento de despistaje de malestar psicológico que reúne los requisitos psicométricos necesarios para ser utilizado en población argentina.

SAMMANFATTNING Syftet med studien var att studera hur sjuksköterskan inom intensivvård använder NuDesc(The Nursing Delirium Screening Scale) och om de anser sig ha tillräcklig kunskap för attbedöma delirium med hjälp av NuDesc. Studien är en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie med datainsamling via en enkät som konstrueratsspeciellt för denna studie. Enkäten besvarades av 15 intensivvårdssjuksköterskor på ettuniversitetssjukhus i Mellansverige. Resultatet visade att bedöma delirium på en intensivvårdsavdelning uppfattas avrespondenterna som ganska svårt även om de tycker sig ha tillräckligt med kompetens attanvända bedömningsinstrument NuDesc. Den psykomotoriska förlångsamningen tillsammansmed hallucinationer/ illusioner uppfattas av sjuksköterskorna som svårast att bedöma. / ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to examine how the nurse in intensive care use NuDesc (TheNursing Delirium Screening Scale) and if they feel they have sufficient knowledge to assessdelirium using NuDesc. The study is a quantitative cross-sectional study with data collection through a questionnairedesigned specifically for this study. The survey was answered by 15 ICU nurses at auniversity hospital in central Sweden. The results showed that to assess delirium in intensive care was perceived by respondents tobe quite difficult even if they think they have enough skills to use the assessment instrumentNuDesc. Psychomotor retardation with illusions/ hallucinations are perceived by nurses as themost difficult to assess.

The Student Risk Screening Scale—Internalizing/Externalizing (SRSS-IE) was developed to screen elementary-aged students for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Its use has been extended to middle schools with little evidence that it measures the same constructs as in elementary schools. Scores of a middle school population from the SRSS-IE are analyzed with Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MCFA) to examine its factor structure, factorial invariance between females and males, and its reliability. Several MCFA models are specified, and compared, with two retained for further analysis. The first model is a single-level model with chi-square and standard errors adjusted for the clustered nature of the data. The second model is a two-level model. Both support the hypothesized structure found in elementary populations of two factors (Externalizing and Internalizing). All items load on only one factor except Peer Rejection, which loads on both. Reliability is estimated for both models using several methods, which result in reliability coefficients ranging between .89-.98. Both models also show evidence of Configural, Metric, and Scalar invariance between females and males. While more research is needed to provide other kinds of evidence of validity in middle school populations, results from this study indicate that the SRSS-IE is an effective screening tool for EBD.

This research study examined the psychometric properties of the Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors (SRSS-IE) using Item Response Theory (IRT) methods among a sample of 2,122 middle school students. The SRSS-IE is a recently revised screening instrument aimed at identifying students who are potentially at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). There are two studies included in this research. Study 1 utilized the Nominal Response and Generalized Partial Credit models of IRT to evaluate items from the SRSS-IE in terms of the degree to which the response options for each item functioned as intended by the scale developers and how well those response options discriminated among students who exhibited varying levels of EBD risk. Results from this first study indicated that the four response option configurations of the items on the SRSS-IE may not adequately discriminate among the frequency of externalizing and internalizing behaviors demonstrated by middle school students. Recommendations for item response option revisions or scale scoring revisions are discussed in this study. In study 2, differential item functioning (DIF) and differential step functioning (DSF) methods were used to examine differences in item and response option functioning according to student gender variables. Additionally, test information functions (TIFs) were used to determine whether preliminary recommendations for cut scores differ by gender. Results of this second study indicate that two of the items on the SRSS-IE systematically favor males over females and one item systematically favors females over males. Additionally, examination of TIFs demonstrated different degrees of measurement precision at various levels of theta for males and females on both the externalizing and internalizing constructs. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to possible revisions of the SRSS-IE items, cut scores, or scale scoring procedures.

Postpartum depression is an illness that is frequently unreported and undetected for a variety of reasons and may be potentially devastating for the mother affected as well as her family. Routine screening of postpartum women enables health practitioners to detect symptoms of PPD early and provides an opportunity for early intervention which may improve the outcome and increase the mother’s chances of an earlier recovery. It is therefore important that reliable and convenient screening tools are available to health practitioners who have contact with postpartum women. The primary objective of this research was to make an Afrikaans version of an existing screening scale available – the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS), designed specifically to encompass the multifaceted phenomenon of PPD. In accordance with this objective, the validity and reliability of the PDSS and its Afrikaans version was investigated in English- and Afrikaans-speaking South African mothers. A further objective of this study was to compare the performance of the PDSS with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR16). Various factors have been reported to be associated with the development of PPD. The final objective of this study was to explore the relationship between known risk factors for PPD and high scores on the PDSS amongst women in South African. A total of 365 South African mothers, between 4 and 16 weeks postpartum participated in this study. English-speaking mothers (n = 187) completed the PDSS, EPDS, QIDS, and a demographic and psychosocial questionnaire, while Afrikaans speaking mothers (n = 178) completed the respective Afrikaans versions of these questionnaires. A multiple translation method – Brislin’s back-translation method and the committee approach – was used to translate the PDSS and the QIDS into Afrikaans. An item response theory (IRT), Rasch analysis, was used to examine dimensionality, item difficulty, differential item functioning, and category functioning of the PDSS and the Afrikaans PDSS. Results reveal excellent person reliability estimates for the Afrikaans PDSS as well as for the PDSS in a South African sample. Both language versions performed reasonably well and the majority of items in the PDSS dimensions and the Afrikaans PDSS dimensions demonstrated fit statistics that supported the underlying constructs of each dimension. Some items were identified as problematic, namely Item 2, Item 25, Item 28, and Item 30. The item person construct maps show reasonably good spread of items. There were, however, persons that scored higher than the items could measure and an overrepresentation of items at the mean level. The Likert response categories proved to be effective for all the Afrikaans PDSS items and almost all the PDSS items. Results indicate that 49.7% of mothers screened positive for major PPD using the PDSS. A further 17.3% of mothers obtained scores indicating the presence of significant symptoms of PPD. Statistically significant correlations were obtained between total scores on the PDSS, the EPDS, and the QIDS-SR16. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified 11 variables that were significantly associated with a high PDSS total score. These were a history of psychiatric illness, postpartum blues, feeling negative or ambivalent about expecting this baby, fearful of childbirth, infant temperament, antenatal depression in recent pregnancy, lack of support from the baby’s father, concern about health related issues regarding the infant, lack of support from friends, difficulty conceiving, and life stress. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted