Depression is poorly recognised, under-assessed and under-treated in patients receiving palliative care for a life-limiting illness. There are barriers to assessment and diagnosis, and limited access to specialist clinicians who might assist in these complex assessments and who could provide options for treatment. The three studies presented, using different research methodologies, and using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, seek to clarify these issues and to provide some solutions. A questionnaire was sent to all Palliative Care Services (PCS) in Australia. Questions included what part specialist psychological clinicians played in multi-disciplinary team meetings and in the treatment or coordination of patient care. Very few PCS used a valid screening instrument for psychological distress and very few had regular support from a psychiatrist or psychologist. Many did not have access to social work support. There are two competing issues with regard to recognising and assessing depression in palliative populations. A rapid reliable screen that points to a likely problem would be useful, but also there is a need to understand something of the patient experience of depression. In the second study, the one- and two-item screening instruments widely used in palliative care are examined and limitations that have been found in other settings are confirmed. A new novel screening tool is developed from this data and tested empirically. This algorithm is short, has good psychometric properties and is validated for an Australian palliative care population. Depending on the response pattern it is possible to identify that a particular patient has significant symptoms of depression by asking between one and four questions. Professional carer and patient acceptability of the questions is high. The understanding of the experience and symptom profile of depression in Australian palliative care patients is addressed in the third study. Patients and family carers were recruited prospectively from palliative care and oncology ambulatory clinics of two teaching hospitals in an Australian capital city. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was administered to the patient and the Collateral Source version of this instrument was asked of the carer. A subset of this sample completed the measures twice. The results using this 30-item scale were then compared with all the known previously published short versions of this scale. Two short forms met as many psychometric criteria as the longer forms. None of the versions of the GDS showed sufficiently high correlations between carer-completed and patient-completed forms. The frequency of symptoms was also assessed. Patients more frequently reported fatigue and anhedonia than depressed affect. Despite many screening instruments being available for depression, their use is limited in Palliative Care Services. Although these studies have validated several options for Australian palliative care patients, the issues behind the low uptake rates for screening have not been resolved. The final chapter of this thesis constructs known and potential barriers into a logical structure and then offers some solutions to improve access to mental health professionals by considering service models and applying this theory to the problem of depression and its assessment in palliative care populations.

The main aim of this thesis has been to investigate trauma and dissociation among Swedish adolescents and to evaluate the psychometric properties such as reliability and various kinds of validity of three screening instruments for assessment of dissociation and other symptoms of post traumatic stress. The three instruments in question have been Dis-Q-Sweden, A-DES and TSCC, the symptoms measured by these instruments are neither easy to capture nor easy for the adolescent to talk about. Therefore these self report scales are essential. A second aim has been to compare the results with results from other countries and to develop preliminary Swedish norms for the clinician to use. Age and gender differences have been looked upon as well as assessed symptoms connected to known experienced trauma/sexual and/or physical abuse and self-reported trauma in normal and clinical populations. The populations, in this thesis have been children and adolescents age 10 -19 years old from the general population; the clinical groups have had the same age range. All children and adolescents in the clinical groups have been sexually and/or physically abused. Participants have answered the questionnaires Dis-Q-Sweden, A-DES and/or TSCC and their answers have been statistically analysed. All three instruments have been shown to have good reliability, such as internal consistency and test-retest. Validity has been established through factor analyses, concurrent, and criterion related validity. Clinical groups with known experienced trauma/sexual abuse and/or physical abuse gave significantly higher scores on all the instruments compared to normative groups. Also self-reported trauma in a normative group gave significantly higher scores even if the significances are not as high as between the normative and clinical groups. Girls scored significantly higher than boys in both the clinical and normative groups. Girls in the age range 14-15 years old gave the significantly highest scores on both Dis-Q-Sweden and ADES. Swedish adolescents gave lower mean scores on all three instruments than have been reported from other studies in other countries. The scores from the clinical groups gave about the same mean as have been reported elsewhere. The conclusion from this thesis is that all the three questionnaires Dis-Q-Sweden, A-DES and TSCC have shown satisfactory psychometrics properties and can very well be used by Swedish clinicians in Child and Adolescents Psychiatry.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Given the lack of standardised and locally developed school readiness assessment tools in South Africa, as well as the under-emphasis on emotional and social competency in favour of cognitive domains in assessment of school readiness, many South African children enter mainstream schooling with their emotional wellbeing significantly compromised. Therefore, emphasis on children’s emotional and social competency as a domain of school readiness is essential. The study aims to identify and summarise aspects of the instruments that measure emotional and social competency as a domain of school readiness in preschoolers and their psychometric properties. All ethical considerations in terms of the systematic review process were adhered to

Child abuse and neglect occur in epidemic numbers in the United States and around the world, resulting in major physical and mental health consequences for abused children in the present and future. A vast amount of information is available on the signs and symptoms and short- and long-term consequences of abuse. A limited number of instruments have been empirically developed to screen for child abuse, with most focused on physical abuse in the context of the emergency department, which have been found to be minimally effective and lacking rigor. This literature review focuses on physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect, occurring in one or multiple forms (polyabuse). A systematic, in-depth analysis of the literature was conducted. This literature review provides information for identifying children who have been abused and neglected but exposes the need for a comprehensive screening instrument or protocol that will capture all forms of child abuse and neglect. Screening needs to be succinct, user-friendly, and amenable for use with children at every point of care in the healthcare system.

The fundamental principle that reliability is a property of scores and not of instruments provides the foundation of a meta-analytic technique called reliability generalization (RG). RG studies characterize the reliability of scores generated by a given instrument and identify methodological and sample characteristics that contribute to the variability in the reliability of those scores. The present study is an RG of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI). Reliability estimates were obtained from 19.8% of studies using the SASSI. Bivariate correlations revealed strong, positive correlations between SASSI score reliability and score variability of the Subtle Attributes (r = .877, p < .05) and Family History (r = .892, p < .05) subscales and between score reliability and ethnicity for both the Family History (r = .683, p < .05) and Tendency to Involvement in Correctional Setting (r = .76, p < .05) subscales.

The functioning of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is a concern for parents and educators. Screening focuses efforts to identify and prevent/remediate EBD for students most at risk. Current screening instruments fail to meet three factors that may be related to successful early identification. The three factors are universality (rates all students), brevity, and identification of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This thesis began the construction of a screener with all three factors. The thesis determined a conceptual basis for the instrument and created an item pool. The conceptualization was based on a literature review. The item pool was obtained by looking at current assessments and screeners, research studies, and teacher focus groups and email surveys. The item pool should be test piloted and compared against reliable and valid assessments to further reduce the number of items.

No description available.

Os transtornos depressivos, a dependência de tabaco e os transtornos relacionados ao uso de álcool (TRUA) são altamente prevalentes e estão associados a diversas comorbidades. Todavia, permanecem subdiagnosticados e subtratados em diversos contextos de saúde. Dessa forma, o presente estudo teve por objetivos: a) avaliar parâmetros de fidedignidade e validade de instrumentos de rastreamento para transtornos depressivos (Patient Health Questionnaire - two itens [PHQ-2] e Well-Being Index - five itens [WHO-5]), dependência de tabaco (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence [FTND] e Heaviness of Smoking Index [HSI]) e de álcool (Fast Alcohol Screening Test [FAST], CAGE, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT] e suas versões breves); b) realizar a análise fatorial do WHO-5, FTND e do AUDIT; c) avaliar a comorbidade entre os transtornos supracitados. Participaram dos estudos da fidedignidade teste-reteste 429 universitários e da fidedignidade interavaliadores 41 pacientes do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial - Álcool e Drogas (CAPS-AD). Os estudos da validade preditiva, consistência interna, comorbidade e análise fatorial utilizaram uma amostra de 530 pacientes do Pronto Socorro e do CAPS-AD. A fidedignidade foi estimada por meio do kappa e do coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (CCI). Nos estudos da validade preditiva, a SCID-CV foi a medida diagnóstica comparativa, sendo calculadas as áreas sob a curva ROC (ASC), sensibilidades, especificidades, acurácias, valores preditivos positivos e negativos dos instrumentos. A validade concorrente foi examinada pelo coeficiente de Spearman. O coeficiente alfa de cronbach foi utilizado para aferir a consistência interna. A análise fatorial exploratória foi realizada segundo os critérios de Kaiser. As comorbidades foram avaliadas por meio da regressão logística - odds ratios brutos e ajustados. O nível de significância foi de p<0,05, com intervalo de confiança de 95%. O PHQ-2 e do WHO-5 apresentaram altos índices de fidedignidade (>0,98). Exibiram, também, consistências internas elevadas (0,76 e 0,78, respectivamente). O WHO-5 obteve uma ASC de 0,89; sensibilidade de 0,85 e especificidade de 0,81 no ponto de corte nove. O PHQ-2 apresentou uma ASC de 0,86; sensibilidade de 0,74 e especificidade de 0,87 no ponto de corte três. O WHO-5 exibiu um único fator que explicou 51% da variância dos dados. Os estudos da fidedignidade do FTND resultaram em altos CCI (0,92 no teste-reteste e 0,99 no interavaliadores). Na análise fatorial, o FTND exibiu dois fatores. A consistência interna do FTND foi elevada (0,83), já a do HSI esteve abaixo do recomendado (0,56). O FTND e o HSI apresentaram elevados valores de sensibilidade, especificidade e acurácia. O AUDIT e suas versões abreviadas apresentaram consistências internas entre 0,83 e 0,94. No estudo da validade preditiva, esses instrumentos exibiram ASC entre 0,92 a 0,96, com índices de sensibilidade entre 0,84 e 0,93; e de especificidade de 0,83 a 0,94 para rastrear TRUA. A menor versão, o AUDIT-3 obteve excelentes resultados. No estudo da validade concorrente, observaram-se correlações expressivas entre as versões breves e o AUDIT (0,91 - 0,99). Em todas as avaliações o CAGE apresentou valores satisfatórios, porém inferiores aos das versões breves do AUDIT. Os resultados obtidos confirmam a validade e a confiabilidade das versões brasileiras do WHO-5, PHQ-2, FTND e do HSI, assim como, a eficácia de todas as versões breves do AUDIT, demonstrando que suas propriedades psicométricas são tão satisfatórias quanto às do instrumento completo e superiores as do CAGE. Portanto, o emprego desses instrumentos encontra apoio em sua viabilidade e sua validade, incentivando a sua utilização tanto na prática clínica diária como em pesquisas. Observou-se, neste estudo, que o tabagismo e o abuso e dependência do álcool são importantes preditores de transtornos depressivos e que os dependentes de álcool mostraram quatro vezes mais chance de serem tabagistas. / Depressive disorders, tobacco dependence, and alcohol-related disorders (ARD) are highly prevalent and are associated with several comorbidities. Nonetheless, they are still under-diagnosed and under-treated in many health settings. Therefore, this study was aimed at (1) assessing reliability and validity parameters of screening instruments for depressive disorders (Patient Health Questionnaire 2 [PHQ-2] and Well-Being Index 5 [WHO-5]), tobacco dependence (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence [FTND] and Heaviness of Smoking Index [HSI]), and alcohol dependence (Fast Alcohol Screening Test [FAST], CAGE, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT] and their brief versions); (2) performing the factorial analysis of the WHO-5, FTND, and AUDIT; and (3) assessing the comorbidity between the above-mentioned disorders. The test-retest reliability study involved 429 university students and the inter-rater reliability study included 41 patients of a Center for Psychosocial Attention Alcohol and Drugs (CAPS-AD, in the Portuguese acronym). The assessment of the predictive validity, internal consistency, comorbidity, and factorial analysis involved a sample of 530 patients of an emergency unit and the CAPS-AD. Reliability was estimated by means of kappa and interclass correlation (ICC) coefficients. In the predictive validity studies, the SCID-CV was used as the comparison diagnostic measure, with calculation of the areas under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values of the instruments. Concurrent validity was assessed using Spearmans coefficient. Cronbachs alpha coefficient was used to assess internal consistency. The exploratory factorial analysis was conducted according to Kaisers criteria. Comorbidities were analyzed by logistic regression raw and adjusted odds ratio. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval. The PHQ-2 and WHO-5 had high levels of reliability (> 0.98) and internal consistency (0.76 and 0.78, respectively). The WHO-5 had an AUC of 0.89; sensitivity of 0.85; and specificity of 0.81 for a cut-off of 9. The PHQ-2 had an AUC of 0.86; sensitivity of 0.74; and specificity of 0.87 for a cut-off of 3. The WHO-5 yielded one single factor, which explained 51% of the data variance. The reliability study of the FTND provided high ICC coefficients (0.92 for test-retest and 0.99 for inter-rater). In the factorial analysis, the FTND yielded two factors. The internal consistency of the FTND was high (0.83), but that of the HIS was below recommended levels (0.56). The FTND and the HIS had high indices of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The AUDIT and its brief versions had internal consistency values between 0.83 and 0.94. In the study of predictive validity, these instruments had AUC between 0.92 and 0.96, with sensitivity levels between 0.84 and 0.93 and specificity levels ranging from 0.83 and 0.94 for the screening of ARD. The shortest version of the AUDIT (AUDIT-3) had excellent results. In the assessment of concurrent validity, expressive correlations were found between the AUDIT and its brief versions (0.91-0.99). In all analyses, the CAGE had satisfactory results, although inferior to those of the brief versions of the AUDIT. The results confirm the validity and reliability of the Brazilian versions of the WHO-5, PHQ-2, FTND, and HIS, as well as the efficacy of all the brief versions of the AUDIT, demonstrating that their psychometric qualities are as satisfactory as those of the full version of the instrument and superior to those of the CAGE. Therefore, the use of these instruments is supported by their viability and validity, which encourage their use in routine clinical practice and research settings. The results also showed that smoking and alcohol abuse and dependence are important predictors of depressive disorders and that alcoholics had a fourfold higher chance of being smokers.

Os transtornos depressivos, a dependência de tabaco e os transtornos relacionados ao uso de álcool (TRUA) são altamente prevalentes e estão associados a diversas comorbidades. Todavia, permanecem subdiagnosticados e subtratados em diversos contextos de saúde. Dessa forma, o presente estudo teve por objetivos: a) avaliar parâmetros de fidedignidade e validade de instrumentos de rastreamento para transtornos depressivos (Patient Health Questionnaire - two itens [PHQ-2] e Well-Being Index - five itens [WHO-5]), dependência de tabaco (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence [FTND] e Heaviness of Smoking Index [HSI]) e de álcool (Fast Alcohol Screening Test [FAST], CAGE, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT] e suas versões breves); b) realizar a análise fatorial do WHO-5, FTND e do AUDIT; c) avaliar a comorbidade entre os transtornos supracitados. Participaram dos estudos da fidedignidade teste-reteste 429 universitários e da fidedignidade interavaliadores 41 pacientes do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial - Álcool e Drogas (CAPS-AD). Os estudos da validade preditiva, consistência interna, comorbidade e análise fatorial utilizaram uma amostra de 530 pacientes do Pronto Socorro e do CAPS-AD. A fidedignidade foi estimada por meio do kappa e do coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (CCI). Nos estudos da validade preditiva, a SCID-CV foi a medida diagnóstica comparativa, sendo calculadas as áreas sob a curva ROC (ASC), sensibilidades, especificidades, acurácias, valores preditivos positivos e negativos dos instrumentos. A validade concorrente foi examinada pelo coeficiente de Spearman. O coeficiente alfa de cronbach foi utilizado para aferir a consistência interna. A análise fatorial exploratória foi realizada segundo os critérios de Kaiser. As comorbidades foram avaliadas por meio da regressão logística - odds ratios brutos e ajustados. O nível de significância foi de p<0,05, com intervalo de confiança de 95%. O PHQ-2 e do WHO-5 apresentaram altos índices de fidedignidade (>0,98). Exibiram, também, consistências internas elevadas (0,76 e 0,78, respectivamente). O WHO-5 obteve uma ASC de 0,89; sensibilidade de 0,85 e especificidade de 0,81 no ponto de corte nove. O PHQ-2 apresentou uma ASC de 0,86; sensibilidade de 0,74 e especificidade de 0,87 no ponto de corte três. O WHO-5 exibiu um único fator que explicou 51% da variância dos dados. Os estudos da fidedignidade do FTND resultaram em altos CCI (0,92 no teste-reteste e 0,99 no interavaliadores). Na análise fatorial, o FTND exibiu dois fatores. A consistência interna do FTND foi elevada (0,83), já a do HSI esteve abaixo do recomendado (0,56). O FTND e o HSI apresentaram elevados valores de sensibilidade, especificidade e acurácia. O AUDIT e suas versões abreviadas apresentaram consistências internas entre 0,83 e 0,94. No estudo da validade preditiva, esses instrumentos exibiram ASC entre 0,92 a 0,96, com índices de sensibilidade entre 0,84 e 0,93; e de especificidade de 0,83 a 0,94 para rastrear TRUA. A menor versão, o AUDIT-3 obteve excelentes resultados. No estudo da validade concorrente, observaram-se correlações expressivas entre as versões breves e o AUDIT (0,91 - 0,99). Em todas as avaliações o CAGE apresentou valores satisfatórios, porém inferiores aos das versões breves do AUDIT. Os resultados obtidos confirmam a validade e a confiabilidade das versões brasileiras do WHO-5, PHQ-2, FTND e do HSI, assim como, a eficácia de todas as versões breves do AUDIT, demonstrando que suas propriedades psicométricas são tão satisfatórias quanto às do instrumento completo e superiores as do CAGE. Portanto, o emprego desses instrumentos encontra apoio em sua viabilidade e sua validade, incentivando a sua utilização tanto na prática clínica diária como em pesquisas. Observou-se, neste estudo, que o tabagismo e o abuso e dependência do álcool são importantes preditores de transtornos depressivos e que os dependentes de álcool mostraram quatro vezes mais chance de serem tabagistas. / Depressive disorders, tobacco dependence, and alcohol-related disorders (ARD) are highly prevalent and are associated with several comorbidities. Nonetheless, they are still under-diagnosed and under-treated in many health settings. Therefore, this study was aimed at (1) assessing reliability and validity parameters of screening instruments for depressive disorders (Patient Health Questionnaire 2 [PHQ-2] and Well-Being Index 5 [WHO-5]), tobacco dependence (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence [FTND] and Heaviness of Smoking Index [HSI]), and alcohol dependence (Fast Alcohol Screening Test [FAST], CAGE, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT] and their brief versions); (2) performing the factorial analysis of the WHO-5, FTND, and AUDIT; and (3) assessing the comorbidity between the above-mentioned disorders. The test-retest reliability study involved 429 university students and the inter-rater reliability study included 41 patients of a Center for Psychosocial Attention Alcohol and Drugs (CAPS-AD, in the Portuguese acronym). The assessment of the predictive validity, internal consistency, comorbidity, and factorial analysis involved a sample of 530 patients of an emergency unit and the CAPS-AD. Reliability was estimated by means of kappa and interclass correlation (ICC) coefficients. In the predictive validity studies, the SCID-CV was used as the comparison diagnostic measure, with calculation of the areas under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values of the instruments. Concurrent validity was assessed using Spearmans coefficient. Cronbachs alpha coefficient was used to assess internal consistency. The exploratory factorial analysis was conducted according to Kaisers criteria. Comorbidities were analyzed by logistic regression raw and adjusted odds ratio. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05, with a 95% confidence interval. The PHQ-2 and WHO-5 had high levels of reliability (> 0.98) and internal consistency (0.76 and 0.78, respectively). The WHO-5 had an AUC of 0.89; sensitivity of 0.85; and specificity of 0.81 for a cut-off of 9. The PHQ-2 had an AUC of 0.86; sensitivity of 0.74; and specificity of 0.87 for a cut-off of 3. The WHO-5 yielded one single factor, which explained 51% of the data variance. The reliability study of the FTND provided high ICC coefficients (0.92 for test-retest and 0.99 for inter-rater). In the factorial analysis, the FTND yielded two factors. The internal consistency of the FTND was high (0.83), but that of the HIS was below recommended levels (0.56). The FTND and the HIS had high indices of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The AUDIT and its brief versions had internal consistency values between 0.83 and 0.94. In the study of predictive validity, these instruments had AUC between 0.92 and 0.96, with sensitivity levels between 0.84 and 0.93 and specificity levels ranging from 0.83 and 0.94 for the screening of ARD. The shortest version of the AUDIT (AUDIT-3) had excellent results. In the assessment of concurrent validity, expressive correlations were found between the AUDIT and its brief versions (0.91-0.99). In all analyses, the CAGE had satisfactory results, although inferior to those of the brief versions of the AUDIT. The results confirm the validity and reliability of the Brazilian versions of the WHO-5, PHQ-2, FTND, and HIS, as well as the efficacy of all the brief versions of the AUDIT, demonstrating that their psychometric qualities are as satisfactory as those of the full version of the instrument and superior to those of the CAGE. Therefore, the use of these instruments is supported by their viability and validity, which encourage their use in routine clinical practice and research settings. The results also showed that smoking and alcohol abuse and dependence are important predictors of depressive disorders and that alcoholics had a fourfold higher chance of being smokers.