Why the factorial structure of the SCL-90-R is unstable: Comparing patient groups with different levels of psychological distress using Mokken Scale Analysis

PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH

卷:200

Article

Paap, Muirne C. S.^1,2  Meijer, Rob R.³  Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T.⁴  Richter-Appelt, Hertha⁵  de Cuypere, Griet⁶  Kreukels, Baudewijntje P. C.⁴  Pedersen, Geir⁷  Karterud, Sigmund²  Malt, Ulrik F.¹  Haraldsen, Ira R.¹ 

[1] Oslo Univ Hosp, Dept Neuropsychiat & Psychosomat Med, Oslo, Norway

[2] Univ Oslo, Inst Clin Med, N-0316 Oslo, Norway

[3] Univ Groningen, Fac Behav & Social Sci, Dept Psychometr & Stat Tech, NL-9700 AB Groningen, Netherlands

[4] Vrije Univ Amsterdam Med Ctr, Dept Med Psychol, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[5] Univ Hosp Hamburg Eppendorf, Inst Sex Res & Forens Psychiat, Hamburg, Germany

[6] Univ Hosp Gent, Dept Sexol & Gender Problems, Ghent, Belgium

[7] Oslo Univ Hosp, Dept Personal Psychiat, Clin Mental Hlth & Addict, Oslo, Norway

关键词: Item response theory;    Validity;    Personality disorder;    Questionnaire evaluation;    Gender identity disorder;    Depression;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.psychres.2012.03.012

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Since its introduction, there has been a debate about the validity of the factorial structure of the SCL-90-R. In this study we investigate whether the lack of agreement with respect to the dimensionality can be partly explained by important variables that might differ between samples such as level of psychological distress, the variance of the SCL-90-R scores and sex. Three samples were included: a sample of severely psychiatrically disturbed patients (n=3078), a sample of persons with Gender Incongruence (GI; n=410) and a sample of depressed patients (n=223). A unidimensional pattern of findings were found for the GI sample. For the severely disturbed and depressed sample, a multidimensional pattern was found. In the depressed sample sex differences were found in dimensionality: we found a unidimensional pattern for the females, and a multidimensional one for the males. Our analyses suggest that previously reported conflicting findings with regard to the dimensional structure of the SCL-90-R may be due to at least two factors: (a) level of self-reported distress, and (b) sex. Subscale scores should be used with care in patient groups with low self-reported level of distress. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved.

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