A brief scale of pathological worry that everyone already has

AbstractWorry is a central process in a wide range of psychopathological and somatic conditions. Three studies (N = 856) were used to test whether a subscale composed of five items of the most commonly used trait anxiety questionnaire, Spielberger’s State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait version (STAI-T), is appropriate to measure worry. Results showed that the subscale, named the Brief Worry Scale (BWS), had excellent internal consistency and temporal stability. Convergent and divergent validity were supported by correlation analyses using worry questionnaires and measures of anxious arousal and depression. The BWS was a particularly good predictor of the pathogenic aspects of worry, including worry perseveration in daily life (study 1), measures of clinical worry (study 2) and the uncontrollability of experimentally induced worry (study 3). Taken together, these studies demonstrate that the BWS might be a valuable scale for pathological worry, for which many researchers already have data.

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A brief scale of pathological worry that everyone already has

10.31234/osf.io/vjs5d ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bart Verkuil ◽

Briana Brownlow ◽

Michael Vasey ◽

Jos F. Brosschot ◽

Julian F. Thayer

Keyword(s):

Trait Anxiety ◽

Temporal Stability ◽

Divergent Validity ◽

Central Process ◽

Life Study ◽

Wide Range ◽

Excellent Internal Consistency ◽

Convergent And Divergent Validity ◽

Pathological Worry ◽

Anxiety Questionnaire

Worry is a central process in a wide range of psychopathological and somatic conditions. Three studies (N = 856) were used to test whether a subscale composed of five items of the most commonly used trait anxiety questionnaire, Spielberger’s State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait version (STAI-T), is appropriate to measure worry. Results showed that the subscale, named the Brief Worry Scale (BWS), had excellent internal consistency and temporal stability. Convergent and divergent validity were supported by correlation analyses using worry questionnaires and measures of anxious arousal and depression. The BWS was a particularly good predictor of the pathogenic aspects of worry, including worry perseveration in daily life (study 1), measures of clinical worry (study 2) and the uncontrollability of experimentally induced worry (study 3). Taken together, these studies demonstrate that the BWS might be a valuable scale for pathological worry, for which many researchers already have data.

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Design and psychometric evaluation of epilepsy-related apathy scale (E-RAS) in adults with epilepsy: a sequential exploratory mixed methods design

BMC Neurology ◽

10.1186/s12883-021-02139-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Abbas Shamsalinia ◽

Mozhgan Moradi ◽

Reza Ebrahimi Rad ◽

Reza Ghadimi ◽

Mansoureh Ashghali Farahani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Care Providers ◽

Divergent Validity ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Mixed Methods Design ◽

Scale Evaluation ◽

Wide Range ◽

Epileptic Patients ◽

Convergent And Divergent Validity

Abstract Background Apathy in patients with epilepsy is associated with a wide range of consequences that reduce the patient’s ability to perform social functions and participate in self-care and rehabilitation programs. Therefore, apathy is one of the important diagnoses of the healthcare team in the process of caring for epileptic patients and its dimensions need to be examined and recognized. Therefore, appropriate instruments with the sociocultural milieu of each community should be provided to health care providers. The aim of the present study was to design and measure epilepsy–related apathy scale (E-RAS) in adults with epilepsy. Methods This study of sequential exploratory mixed methods design was conducted in Iran from April 2019 to December 2019. In the Item generation stage, two inductive (face-to-face and semi-structured interviews with 17 adult epileptic patients) and deductive (literature review) were used. In item reduction, integration of qualitative and literature reviews and scale evaluation were accomplished. For Scale Evaluation, face, content, construct [exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 360) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 200)], convergent and divergent Validity and reliability (internal consistency and stability) were investigated. Results The results of EFA showed that E-RAS has four factors, namely, motivation; self-regulatory; cognition and emotional-effective. These four latent factors accounted for a total of 48.351% of the total variance in the E-RAS construct. The results of CFA showed that the 4-factor model of E-RAS has the highest fit with the data. The results of convergent and divergent validity showed that the values of composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) for the four factors were greater than 0.7 and 0.5, respectively, and the value of AVE for each factor was greater than CR. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the whole scale was obtained 0.815. The results of the test-retest showed that there was a significant agreement between the test and retest scores (P < 0.001). Conclusion E-RAS is a multidimensional construct consisting of 24 items, and has acceptable validity and reliability for the study of epilepsy-related apathy in adult epileptic patients.

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Assessing metacognitive beliefs about worry: validation of German versions of the Why Worry Scale II and the Consequences of Worry Scale

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.5177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e5177

Author(s):

Carolin Thielsch ◽

Tanja Andor ◽

Thomas Ehring

Keyword(s):

Self Report ◽

Divergent Validity ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Ww Ii ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Metacognitive Beliefs ◽

Excellent Internal Consistency ◽

Convergent And Divergent Validity

Background Metacognitive beliefs have been proposed to play a key role in initiating and maintaining worry. The Why Worry-Scale-II (WW-II) and Consequences of Worry Scale (COWS) are self-report questionnaires assessing positive and negative metacognitive beliefs. The main goal of this study was to validate German versions of these two questionnaires. Method N = 603 participants completed a questionnaire battery, including the two self-report measures of metacognitive beliefs. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses, calculated internal consistencies, and examined convergent and divergent validity. In addition, the questionnaires’ power in predicting worry, repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms were investigated. Results The factor structure of the original versions could be replicated for both measures. Furthermore, the translated questionnaires demonstrated excellent internal consistency and evidence of convergent and divergent validity. Importantly they also possessed predictive power in explaining worry, RNT and GAD symptoms, even over and above the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) as the current gold standard. Conclusions Overall, our findings suggest that the WW-II and COWS show solid psychometric properties and are useful in measuring metacognitive beliefs independently from the MCQ-30.

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Evaluation of the Satisfaction with Appearance Scale and Its Short Form in Systemic Sclerosis: Analysis from the UCLA Scleroderma Quality of Life Study

The Journal of Rheumatology ◽

10.3899/jrheum.141482 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 42 (9) ◽

pp. 1624-1630 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Sarah D. Mills ◽

Rina S. Fox ◽

Erin L. Merz ◽

Philip J. Clements ◽

Suzanne Kafaja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Body Image ◽

Systemic Sclerosis ◽

Factor Structure ◽

Short Form ◽

Body Image Dissatisfaction ◽

Divergent Validity ◽

Life Study ◽

Convergent And Divergent Validity

Objective.Changes in appearance are common in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and can significantly affect well-being. The Satisfaction with Appearance Scale (SWAP) measures body image dissatisfaction in persons with visible disfigurement; the Brief-Satisfaction with Appearance Scale (Brief-SWAP) is its short form. The present study evaluated the reliability and validity of SWAP and Brief-SWAP scores in SSc.Methods.A sample of 207 patients with SSc participating in the University of California, Los Angeles Scleroderma Quality of Life Study completed the SWAP. Brief-SWAP scores were derived from the SWAP. The structural validity of both measures was investigated using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency reliability of total and subscale scores was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Convergent and divergent validity was evaluated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index, and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 questionnaire.Results.SWAP and Brief-SWAP total scores were highly correlated (r = 0.97). The 4-factor structure of the SWAP fit well descriptively; the 2-factor structure of the Brief-SWAP fit well descriptively and statistically. Internal consistencies for total and subscale scores were good, and results supported convergent and divergent validity.Conclusion.Both versions are suitable for use in patients with SSc. The Brief-SWAP is most efficient; the full SWAP yields additional subscales that may be informative in understanding body image issues in patients with SSc.

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Development and Validation of the Dissociative Symptoms Scale

Assessment ◽

10.1177/1073191116645904 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 84-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Eve B. Carlson ◽

Lynn C. Waelde ◽

Patrick A. Palmieri ◽

Kathryn S. Macia ◽

Steven R. Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stress Disorder ◽

Temporal Stability ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Dissociative Experiences ◽

Dissociative Symptoms ◽

Wide Range ◽

Convergent And Divergent Validity ◽

Good Internal Consistency ◽

Development And Validation

The Dissociative Symptoms Scale (DSS) was developed to assess moderately severe levels of depersonalization, derealization, gaps in awareness or memory, and dissociative reexperiencing that would be relevant to a wide range of clinical populations. Structural analyses of data from four clinical and five nonclinical samples ( N = 1,600) yielded four factors that reflected the domains of interest and showed good fit with the data. Sample scores were consistent with expectations and showed very good internal consistency and temporal stability. Analyses showed consistent evidence of convergent and divergent validity, and posttrauma elevations in scores and in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder provided additional evidence of construct validity. Item response theory analyses indicated that the items assessed moderately severe dissociative experiences. Overall, the results provide support for the reliability and validity of DSS total and subscale scores in the populations studied. Further work is needed to evaluate the performance of the DSS relative to structured interview measures and in samples of patients with other psychological disorders.

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