Psychiatry Research
Volume 195, Issue 1 , Pages 39-44, 30 January 2012

Self-assessment of psychological stress in schizophrenia: Preliminary evidence of reliability and validity

  • Ivy Fei Tso

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
    • Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Tel.: +1 734 647 3959; fax: +1 734 615 0573.
    • ,
  • Tyler Barrett Grove

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
    • College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, 428 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
    • ,
  • Stephan Floyd Taylor

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

Received 11 October 2010; received in revised form 19 March 2011; accepted 4 July 2011. published online 24 October 2011.

Abstract 

Heightened stress sensitivity is a common characteristic of schizophrenia and may be predictive of clinical and functional outcomes. However, systematic assessment is not part of routine clinical practice. This study investigated the reliability and predictive values of two versions of a new scale for the assessment of psychological stress in psychosis (Psychological Stress Index; PSI). Thirty-seven patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and 30 healthy controls completed a battery of self-report measures at baseline and 4–8weeks for test–retest. Thirty-four patients were followed up at 12months. Both of the 18-item and 9-item PSI demonstrated good levels of reliability and could significantly discriminate patients from healthy controls. Both versions showed moderate convergence with self-report and clinician ratings of depression and anxiety, and superior predictive validity of 12-month follow-up clinical and functional outcomes compared to an existing measure of stress (Perceived Stress Scale). The clinical usefulness of the PSI is supported by its predictive power on cross-sectional and longitudinal outcome. The PSI-9 performed as well as, if not better than, the PSI-18 in this study, but further evaluation is warranted for more conclusive comparison.

Keywords: Psychotic disorders, Emotions, Affective symptoms, Outcome assessment, Psychometrics

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PII: S0165-1781(11)00513-0

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2011.07.009

Psychiatry Research
Volume 195, Issue 1 , Pages 39-44, 30 January 2012

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