PSYCHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MACEDONIAN VERSION OF CLINICAL ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW FOR NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS (CAINS)

The construct of negative symptoms has undergone significant changes since the introduction of first generation assessment scales, such as the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms or the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Blunted affect, Alogia, Asociality, Anhedonia and Avolition are largely recognized as valid domains of the negative symptoms construct.Among the new assessment instruments, both the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) are considered adequate in their coverage of the negative symptoms domains. They include the assessment of both behavior and internal experience for Anhedonia, Asociality and Avolition to avoid overlap with functional outcome measures, as well as consummatory and anticipatory components of anhedonia with an emphasis on the internal experience of pleasure.Strengths and limitations of these new assessment instruments will be reviewed in the light of some existing challenges, such as the distinction between primary and secondary negative symptoms and development of innovative treatments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Factor structure and internal consistency of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) on a sample of persons with psychotic disorders in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Journal of Neural Transmission ◽

10.1007/s00702-021-02435-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alma Džubur Kulenović ◽

Eldina Smajic Mešević ◽

Emina Ribić ◽

Selman Repišti ◽

Tamara Radojičić ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽

Social Relations ◽

Clinical Assessment ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Assessment Interview ◽

Clinical Center ◽

Persons With Schizophrenia

AbstractThe assessment of negative symptoms is crucial for development of adequate therapeutic interventions. This is a challenging task due to complex clinical presentation and lack of reliable and valid instruments. This study examined the psychometric characteristics of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). The sample consisted of 81 persons with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder recruited from two health institutions in the Sarajevo Canton: the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo and the Psychiatric Hospital of the Sarajevo Canton. The 13 CAINS items grouped into four factors (expression, motivation and satisfaction in the recreational domain, motivation and satisfaction with social relationships, motivation and satisfaction with job and education). The four-factor solution accounted for 87.83% of the variance of manifest items. The reliabilities of extracted factors were as follows: for motivation and satisfaction with social relationships α = 0.897, for motivation and satisfaction with job and education α = 0.961, for Motivation and satisfaction in the recreation domain α = 0.981, and for expression α = 0.938. The highest correlation between factors was found between Motivation and satisfaction with recreation and Motivation and satisfaction with social relationships. On the other hand, the lowest correlation was found between motivation and satisfaction with social relations and motivation and satisfaction with job and education. In conclusion, the study showed that the latent structure of CAINS is adequate, clearly interpretable, and consisted of four factors. The measure can be used for assessment of the negative symptoms in outpatients with psychosis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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