The School Interference Questionnaire: Examining a Novel Measure of Mental Health–Related Academic Functional Impairment in Youth

This article reports on the development and initial psychometric properties of the School Interference Questionnaire (SIQ), a questionnaire designed to assess both academic functional impairment related to mental health problems and the type and frequency of school refusal behavior. Participants were 110 youth aged 13 to 18 years ( M = 15.41 years, SD = 1.42) admitted to an adolescent partial hospitalization program. The majority of participants identified as female (57.3%), Caucasian (59.1%), and non-Latino (70.0%). Internal consistency of the 12 SIQ core interference items was excellent (Cronbach’s α = .91). The factor structure suggested that a single factor was appropriate for the 12 school interference items. Correlations between the SIQ and other measures in this study provided support for construct validity. The average SIQ core interference item score showed evidence of convergent validity via correlations with measures of school refusal, global disability, and internalizing symptoms. The SIQ also exhibited no significant association with timing of study enrollment, suggesting evidence for divergent validity. Results provide initial evidence supporting the psychometric properties of this novel measure.

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Improving the Measurement of Children’s Mental Health Problems in Colombia with Item Response Theory

Revista Colombiana de Psicología ◽

10.15446/.v29n1.77214 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 87-103

Author(s):

Jorge Cuartas

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Item Response Theory ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Item Response ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Child Behavior Checklist ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Test Theory ◽

Response Theory ◽

Mental Health Scale

The present study examines the psychometric properties of the mental health scale for children used in the 2015 Colombian Mental Health Survey. To do so, a nationally representative sample of 2,727 children is used Mage=8.99; range=7-11, with reports from their main caregivers regarding 26 mental health problem symptoms taken from the Reporting Questionnaire for Children (RQC), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Brief Screening and Diagnostic Questionnaire (CBTD). Classical test theory and factor analysis were conducted to analyze the classical location and information of each item, along with the dimensionality, reliability, and convergent validity of the scale. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used in order to estimate theoretically invariant item parameters for location and information. Findings reveal that the mental health scale for children has adequate psychometric properties for its use in Colombia. Furthermore, irt analyses reveals a set of items that maximize information and that may be used in future administrations when more efficiency is warranted.

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Development and psychometric properties of the Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS): a stigma-related behaviour measure

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences ◽

10.1017/s2045796011000308 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 263-271 ◽

Cited By ~ 108

Author(s):

S. Evans-Lacko ◽

D. Rose ◽

K. Little ◽

C. Flach ◽

D. Rhydderch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Population Level ◽

Middle Income ◽

Health Related ◽

Strong Consensus ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

International Experts ◽

Intended Behaviour

Background.Although stigma in relation to mental health has been defined as including components of knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, no psychometrically tested instrument to assess behavioural discrimination at the population level has been developed. This paper presents details of the development and psychometric properties of the Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS), an instrument based on the Star Social Distance Scale, to assess reported (past and current) and intended (future) behavioural discrimination among the general public against people with mental health problems.Methods.Three studies were carried out to evaluate psychometric properties of the RIBS (Study 1,n = 92; Study 2,n= 37; Study 3,n= 403). Adults aged 25–45 in socio-economic groups: B, C1 and C2 (middle-income groups) took part in development and testing of the RIBS.Results.Internal consistency and test–retest reliability is moderate/substantial. Strong consensus validity was found, as rated by service users/consumers and international experts in stigma research.Conclusions.Use of a behavioural outcome may be important to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions intended to reduce stigma and/or discrimination related to mental illness. The RIBS was found to be a brief, feasible and psychometrically robust measure for assessing mental health-related reported and intended behavioural discrimination.

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Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Scale to Assess the Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care (D-STAR)

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000105 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 255-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sabine Loos ◽

Reinhold Kilian ◽

Thomas Becker ◽

Birgit Janssen ◽

Harald Freyberger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Community Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Therapeutic Relationship ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Community Mental Health Care ◽

German Version

Objective: There are presently no instruments available in German language to assess the therapeutic relationship in psychiatric care. This study validates the German version of the Scale to Assess the Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care (D-STAR). Method: 460 persons with severe mental illness and 154 clinicians who had participated in a multicenter RCT testing a discharge planning intervention completed the D-STAR. Psychometric properties were established via item analysis, analyses of missing values, internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, convergent validity was scrutinized via calculating correlations of the D-STAR scales with two measures of treatment satisfaction. Results: As in the original English version, fit indices of a 3-factor model of the therapeutic relationship were only moderate. However, the feasibility and internal consistency of the D-STAR was good, and correlations with other measures suggested reasonable convergent validity. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the D-STAR are acceptable. Its use can be recommended in German-speaking countries to assess the therapeutic relationship in both routine care and research.

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ShareDisk: A novel visual tool to assess perceptions about who should be responsible for supporting persons with mental health problems

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764020913580 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (4) ◽

pp. 411-418

Author(s):

Srividya N Iyer ◽

Megan A Pope ◽

Gerald Jordan ◽

Greeshma Mohan ◽

Heleen Loohuis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Clinical Utility ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Language And Literacy ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Visual Tool ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

High Test

Objectives: Views on who bears how much responsibility for supporting individuals with mental health problems may vary across stakeholders (patients, families, clinicians) and cultures. Perceptions about responsibility may influence the extent to which stakeholders get involved in treatment. Our objective was to report on the development, psychometric properties and usability of a first-ever tool of this construct. Methods: We created a visual weighting disk called ‘ShareDisk’, measuring perceived extent of responsibility for supporting persons with mental health problems. It was administered (twice, 2 weeks apart) to patients, family members and clinicians in Chennai, India ( N = 30, 30 and 15, respectively) and Montreal, Canada ( N = 30, 32 and 15, respectively). Feedback regarding its usability was also collected. Results: The English, French and Tamil versions of the ShareDisk demonstrated high test–retest reliability ( rs = .69–.98) and were deemed easy to understand and use. Conclusion: The ShareDisk is a promising measure of a hitherto unmeasured construct that is easily deployable in settings varying in language and literacy levels. Its clinical utility lies in clarifying stakeholder roles. It can help researchers investigate how stakeholders’ roles are perceived and how these perceptions may be shaped by and shape the organization and experience of healthcare across settings.

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Licensing and Physician Mental Health: Problems and Possibilities

Journal of Medical Regulation ◽

10.30770/2572-1852-93.2.6 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 93 (2) ◽

pp. 6-11

Author(s):

Herbert Hendin ◽

Charles Reynolds ◽

Dan Fox ◽

Steven I. Altchuler ◽

Phillip Rodgers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Medical Care ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Psychiatric Care ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Related ◽

Seeking Help ◽

Medical License

ABSTRACT A number of factors appear to discourage physicians from seeking help for mental illness. This reluctance may be exacerbated by fears – well-founded or imagined – that by seeking help, physicians may put their medical license in jeopardy. To examine this risk, an analysis of all state medical board (SMB) license applications was followed by a seven-item survey mailed to SMB executive directors, and 70 percent responded. Follow up interviews were conducted with a sample of those not responding and also with a small group of directors whose responses were problematic. Thirteen of the 35 SMBs responding indicated that the diagnosis of mental illness by itself was sufficient for sanctioning physicians. The same states indicated that they treat physicians receiving psychiatric care differently than they do physicians receiving medical care. In follow-up interviews all 13 indicated that without evidence of impairment or misrepresentation any such sanctioning was likely to be temporary. A significant percentage (37 percent) of states sanction or have the ability to sanction physicians on the basis of information revealed on the licensing application about the presence of a psychiatric condition rather than on the basis of impairment. The same percentage state they treat physicians receiving psychiatric care differently than they do those receiving medical care. Physicians’ perceptions of this apparent discrimination is likely to play a role in their reluctance to seek help for mental health-related conditions. Suggestions are made for how SMBs and state physician health programs and state and county medical societies might collaborate in ways that while protecting patients decreases barriers to physicians help seeking.

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Have associations between mental health and health related behaviours changed between 2005 and 2015? A population based cross-cohort study

10.1101/2020.03.06.20032235 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Suzanne H. Gage ◽

Praveetha Patalay

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Weight Perception ◽

Population Based ◽

Parents And Children ◽

Health Related ◽

Avon Longitudinal Study ◽

Over Time

AbstractBackgroundPoor adolescent mental health is a growing concern over recent decades with evidence of increasing internalising mental health problems corresponding with decrease in anti-social, smoking and alcohol behaviours. However, understanding whether and how the associations between mental health and health-related behaviours such as substance use, anti-social behaviour and obesity have changed over time is less well-understood.ObjectivesWe investigate whether the associations between different health-related outcomes in adolescence are stable or changing over time in two recent cohorts of adolescents born ten years apart.MethodData from two UK birth cohort studies, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, born 1991-92, N=5627, 50.7% female) and Millennium Cohort Study (MCS, born 2000-1, N=11318, 50.6% female) at age 14 sweeps are used. The health outcomes of focus are depressive symptom score, substance use (alcohol, smoking, cannabis and other drugs), antisocial behaviours (assault, graffiti, vandalism, shoplifting and rowdy behaviour), weight (BMI), weight perception (perceive self as overweight) and sexual activity (had sexual intercourse).ResultsOur results suggest although directions of associations between mental-health and health-related behaviours (eg smoking) are similar over time, their strength across the distribution has changed. While smoking and alcohol use behaviours are decreasing in adolescents, those that endorse these behaviours in 2015 are more likely to have co-occurring mental-health and other problems than those born in 2005. Similarly, higher body mass index is more strongly associated with depressive symptoms in 2015.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that associations between these factors has changed over time, which has implications for public health and our understanding of the mechanisms underlying their observed associations in the population.

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Anti-stigma interventions

Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/med/9780198792994.003.0044 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 411-420

Author(s):

Petra C. Gronholm ◽

Claire Henderson ◽

Tanya Deb ◽

Graham Thornicroft

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Intervention Development ◽

Outcome Data ◽

Short Term ◽

People With Mental Illness ◽

Related Stigma ◽

Health Related

There is a rich literature on the nature of mental health-related stigma and the processes by which it severely affects the life chances of people with mental health problems. Applying this knowledge to deliver and evaluate interventions to reduce stigma in a lasting way is, however, a complex and long-term challenge. This chapter outlines how mental health-related stigma and discrimination have been defined; describes the negative impact they have on people with mental illness; summarizes anti-stigma strategies and the evidence regarding their effectiveness; and makes suggestions for future intervention development and evaluation. It seems likely that short-term interventions may only have a short-term impact, with the implication being the need to study longer-term interventions and to use interim process and outcome data to improve interventions along the way.

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Depressive symptoms and mental health-related quality of life in adolescence and young adulthood after early parental death

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494818806371 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (7) ◽

pp. 782-792 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Charlotte W. Appel ◽

Kirsten Frederiksen ◽

Henrik Hjalgrim ◽

Atle Dyregrov ◽

Susanne O. Dalton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Parental Death ◽

Grief Counseling ◽

Health Related Quality ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related

Aims: Little is known about long-term mental health in young adults who participate in ongoing grief counseling programs after early parental death in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine mental health in young adults according to early parental death and participation in grief counseling. Methods: In a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study, we included three samples of young adults age 18–41 years. One sample who had lost a parent between age 0 and 30 years and who had participated in grief counseling identified through four Danish grief-counseling organizations, and two registry-based samples of young adults included parentally bereaved and non-bereaved young adults. Multivariate-adjusted regression analyses were performed to characterize risk of depressive symptoms and mental health-related quality of life (HQoL) according to early parental death and participation in grief counseling. Results: A total of 2467 (45%) young adults participated. Bereaved young adults reported significantly more depressive symptoms (p<0.0001) and lower mental HQoL (p<0.0001) than non-bereaved young adults and than general population levels for both depressive symptoms (p<0.0001) and HQoL (p<0.0001). Bereaved young adults who had participated in grief counseling reported significantly more depressive symptoms (p<0.0001) and lower mental HQoL (p<0.0001) than bereaved persons who did not participate in grief counseling. Conclusions: Bereaved young adults report more mental health problems than non-bereaved young adults, and also after participation in grief counseling the death of a parent may be accompanied by subsequent mental health problems.

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Changes in millennial adolescent mental health and health-related behaviours over 10 years: a population cohort comparison study

International Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/ije/dyz006 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (5) ◽

pp. 1650-1664 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Praveetha Patalay ◽

Suzanne H Gage

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Poor Mental Health ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Birth Cohorts ◽

Health Related ◽

Self Harm ◽

Social Behaviours

Abstract Background There is evidence that mental health problems are increasing and substance use behaviours are decreasing. This paper aimed to investigate recent trends in mental ill health and health-related behaviours in two cohorts of UK adolescents in 2005 and 2015. Methods Prevalences in mental health (depressive symptoms, self-harm, anti-social behaviours, parent-reported difficulties) and health-related behaviours (substance use, weight, weight perception, sleep, sexual intercourse) were examined at age 14 in two UK birth cohorts; Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, N = 5627, born 1991–92) and Millennium Cohort Study (MCS, N = 11 318, born 2000–02). Prevalences and trend estimates are presented unadjusted and using propensity score matching and entropy balancing to account for differences between samples. Results Depressive symptoms (9% to 14.8%) and self-harm (11.8% to 14.4%) were higher in 2015 compared with 2005. Parent-reported emotional difficulties, conduct problems, hyperactivity and peer problems were higher in 2015 compared with 2005 (5.7–8.9% to 9.7–17.7%). Conversely, substance use (tried smoking, 9.2% to 2.9%; tried alcohol, 52.1% to 43.5%, cannabis, 4.6% to 3.9%), sexual activity (2% to 0.9%) and anti-social behaviours (6.2–40.1% to 1.6–27.7%) were less common or no different. Adolescents in 2015 were spending less time sleeping (<8 h 5.7% to 11.5%), had higher body mass index (BMI) (obese, 3.8% to 7.3%) and a greater proportion perceived themselves as overweight (26.5% to 32.9%). The findings should be interpreted bearing in mind limitations in ability to adequately harmonize certain variables and account for differences in attrition rates and generalizability of the two cohorts. Conclusions Given health-related behaviours are often cited as risk factors for poor mental health, our findings suggest relationships between these factors might be more complex and dynamic in nature than currently understood. Substantial increases in mental health difficulties, BMI and poor sleep-related behaviours highlight an increasing public health challenge.

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