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Objectives: A new patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument to measure fatigue symptoms and impacts in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) was developed in a qualitative stage, followed by psychometric validation and migration from paper to an electronic format.Methods: Adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were interviewed to elicit fatigue-related symptoms and impacts. A draft questionnaire was debriefed in cognitive interviews with further RRMS patients, and revised. Content confirmation interviews were conducted with patients with progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis (PRMS) and relapsing secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (RSPMS). Psychometric analyses used data from adult patients with different RMS subtypes and matched non-RMS controls in a multicenter, observational study. After item reduction, the final instrument was migrated to a smartphone (eDiary) and usability was confirmed in interviews with additional adult RMS patients.Results: The qualitative stage included 37 RRMS, 5 PRMS, and 5 RSPMS patients. Saturation of concepts was reached during concept elicitation. Cognitive interviews confirmed that participants understood the instructions, items, and response options of the instrument-named FSIQ-RMS-as intended. Psychometric validation included 164 RMS and 74 control patients. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated. The symptoms domain discriminated along the RMS symptom-severity continuum and between patients and controls. Patients were able to attribute fatigue-related symptoms to RMS. Usability and conceptual equivalence of the eDiary were confirmed (n = 10 participants).Conclusions: With 7 symptom items and 13 impact items (in 3 impacts subdomains: physical, cognitive and emotional, and coping) after item reduction, the FSIQ-RMS is a comprehensive, valid, and reliable measure of fatigue-related symptoms and impacts in RMS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurately identifying patients at an elevated risk of suicide in minimal time is an important mental health issue. Therefore, we developed the Ultra Brief Checklist for Suicidality (UBCS) and reported its psychometric properties.Methods: We studied 544 participants who had completed the UBCS, other self-report measures, and structured clinical interviews by trained interviewers. We explored the psychometric properties of the UBCS's paper-based and online versions by identifying optimal cutoff points, sensitivity, specificity, etc. of all participants.Results: The mean score of the UBCS (paper-pencil version) in the no-suicide-risk group was 0.23 (SD = 0.73), while in the Risk-Positive (RP) and the High-Risk (HR) groups it was 3.54 (SD = 3.22) and 6.31 (SD = 3.97), respectively. Optimal cutoff points for the RP and HR groups were 1 (AUC = 0.914) and 3 (AUC = 0.928), respectively.Limitations: The current findings apply only to adults, not to children or adolescents. The original MINI was used as the assessment instrument's reference standard rather than MINI 7.0.2 of DSM-5. Predictive validity was not addressed as this was not a longitudinal cohort study.Conclusions: The UBCS was rigorously tested and validated. More than half the participants completed the UBCS within a minute. It possesses adequate psychometric properties and can be easily administered with minimal clinician time and effort, via paper or Internet. We believe it can contribute to suicide risk identification and timely interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To validate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the THINC-it tool in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods: Subjects aged 18 to 65 years (n=117) with MDD were evaluated and compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n=124). Subjects completed the THINC-it, four criteria-related objective cognitive subtests, and the paper version of Perceived Deficits Questionnaire for Depression-5-item (PDQ-5-D).Results: There were significant differences in Spotter [Mean difference (MD) Standard errors (SE)=-0.40 (0.17), P=0.018; 95% Confidence intervals (CI) (-0.73 to -0.07)]; Codebreaker [MD (SE)=-0.39 (0.14), P=0.006; 95% CI(-0.67 to -0.11)]; and the overall performance of four objective tests (including variants of IDN, OBK, DSST, and TMT-B) [MD (SE)=-0.30 (0.12), P=0.013; 95% CI (-0.53 to -0.06]) between the two groups. In the HC group, PDQ-5-D retest reliability was good (ICC = 0.841), and the test-retest reliability of the objective cognitive test was relatively low (ICC ranging from 0.123 to 0.545). In the MDD group: Cronbach's α of PDQ-5-D=0.704; all the THINC-it subtests had good concurrent validity (r ranging from 0.343 to 0.835, all P<0.01).Limitation: The test-retest sample size was relatively small, the educational level and IQ of the control and MDD groups were not completely matched.Conclusion: The Chinese version of the THINC-it tool exhibits good reliability and validity in adults with MDD. There is a need to incorporate cognitive assessment of adults with MDD broadly. The THINC-it tool is the first tool validated to assess cognition of MDD in a Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present initial validity data on three web-based computerized versions of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS-COMP).Method: The sample for evaluating the validity of the clinician-administered KSADS-COMP included 511 youths 6-18 years of age who were participants in the Child Mind Institute Healthy Brain Network. The sample for evaluating the parent and youth self-administered versions of the KSADS-COMP included 158 youths 11-17 years of age recruited from three academic institutions.Results: Average administration time for completing the combined parent and youth clinician-administered KSADS-COMP was less time than previously reported for completing the paper-and-pencil K-SADS with only one informant (91.9 ± 50.1 minutes). Average administration times for the youth and parent self-administered KSADS-COMP were 50.9 ± 28.0 minutes and 63.2 ± 38.3 minutes, respectively, and youths and parents rated their experience using the web-based self-administered KSADS-COMP versions very positively. Diagnoses generated with all three KSADS-COMP versions demonstrated good convergent validity against established clinical rating scales and dimensional diagnostic-specific ratings derived from the KSADS-COMP. When parent and youth self-administered KSADS-COMP data were integrated, good to excellent concordance was also achieved between diagnoses derived using the self-administered and clinician-administered KSADS-COMP versions (area under the curve = 0.89-1.00).Conclusion: The three versions of the KSADS-COMP demonstrate promising psychometric properties, while offering efficiency in administration and scoring. The clinician-administered KSADS-COMP shows utility not only for research, but also for implementation in clinical practice, with self-report preinterview ratings that streamline administration. The self-administered KSADS-COMP versions have numerous potential research and clinical applications, including in large-scale epidemiological studies, in schools, in emergency departments, and in telehealth to address the critical shortage of child and adolescent mental health specialists.Clinical Trial Registration Information: Computerized Screening for Comorbidity in Adolescents With Substance or Psychiatric Disorders; https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT01866956. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) includes many symptom presentations, which creates unique diagnostic challenges. Fears surrounding one's sexual orientation are common within OCD (also called SO-OCD), but SO-OCD is consistently misdiagnosed by physicians and psychologists. To address this issue, we describe the development of a self-report measure for assessing SO-OCD to help distinguish OCD from distress caused by a sexual orientation identity crisis. The current paper details two studies that established the psychometric properties and clinical utility of this measure. In Study 1, the factor structure, validity, and reliability were examined for the measure's 12 items in a sample of 1,673 university students. The results revealed a two-factor solution for the measure (Factor 1: Transformation Fears; Factor 2: Somatic Checking) and preliminary evidence of validity and reliability. In Study 2, the measure was tested with LGBTQ and heterosexual community samples and clinical samples of individuals with SO-OCD and other types of OCD. The two-factor solution and evidence of validity and reliability were supported in these samples. Cut-off points were established to distinguish between community members and SO-OCD sufferers, as well as between those experiencing SO-OCD and other types of OCD. Limitations and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Youth Anxiety Measure-I for DSM-5 has recently been developed to assess youth's anxiety symptomatology. As social anxiety is one of the most common disorders in adolescence, this scale includes a subscale measuring social anxiety. However, psychometric properties of the YAM-5-I social anxiety subscale (YAM-5-I-SAD) in clinical samples are lacking. This paper aims to bridge the gap.Methods: The sample comprised 24 clinically diagnosed and 24 healthy control Spanish-speaking adolescents aged 14-17 years.Results: Data revealed that the YAM-5- I-SAD yielded excellent sensitivity, which makes it particularly useful as a screening tool to early detect socially anxious adolescents. In addition, the YAM-5-I-SAD evidenced good internal consistency and construct validity.Limitations: Data are limited to the social anxiety subscale.Conclusions: The YAM-5-I-SAD is a sensitive and specific measure to screen for adolescents with social anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Health-related websites have developed to be much more than information sites: they are used to exchange experiences and find support as well as information and advice. This paper documents the development of a tool to compare the potential consequences and experiences a person may encounter when using health-related websites.Methods: Questionnaire items were developed following a review of relevant literature and qualitative secondary analysis of interviews relating to experiences of health. Item reduction steps were performed on pilot survey data (n=167). Tests of validity and reliability were subsequently performed (n=170) to determine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire.Results: Two independent item pools entered psychometric testing: (1) Items relating to general views of using the internet in relation to health and, (2) Items relating to the consequences of using a specific health-related website. Identified sub-scales were found to have high construct validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability.Conclusion: Analyses confirmed good psychometric properties in the eHIQ-Part 1 (11 items) and the eHIQ-Part 2 (26 items).Practice Implications: This tool will facilitate the measurement of the potential consequences of using websites containing different types of material (scientific facts and figures, blogs, experiences, images) across a range of health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines the potential impact of recruitment source differences in schizophrenia research by comparing the neuropsychological performance of volunteers from the NISAD Schizophrenia Research Register with recently published schizophrenia normative data for the Repeatable Battery for Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Methods: The Register sample comprised 285 volunteers with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Their RBANS performance was compared with US data from 575 predominantly outpatient-recruited schizophrenia patients. Results: The Register sample displayed impairments in immediate and delayed memory, but near-normal language, attention and visuospatial-constructional performance (mean RBANS total score=88.72, SD=16.35). By contrast, health service-recruited schizophrenia patients displayed impairments on all RBANS scales (mean RBANS total score=70.54, SD=14.80). Within the Register sample, volunteers with low levels of current functioning had immediate and delayed memory performance comparable to the US schizophrenia sample. Gender and school completion status were also associated with different RBANS profiles. Conclusions: These findings reinforce the notion that a severity/functioning gradient exists across schizophrenia recruitment sources, which has important implications for research design and generalizability. Memory impairments have emerged as a central feature of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite evidence of extensive sexual problems among alcoholics, sexual adjustment is an area of alcoholics' behavior that often has been neglected in both treatment and research. To facilitate work on alcoholics' sexual adjustment, we needed a self-report questionnaire on sexual behavior that we could use in our couples treatment program with alcoholics and in our longitudinal research on the course of alcoholics' sexual problems over time. Pilot work found that available sexual adjustment measures were either too long or too sexually explicit to be useful. This paper describes the 38-item Sexual Adjustment Questionnaire we developed by combining selected items from two existing measures. Factor analysis reduced the questionnaire to the 15 measures of sexual satisfaction and sexual dysfunction described herein. Preliminary normative data and evidence of construct validity, potential clinical and research uses of the questionnaire, and suggestions for future studies are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]