Content Validity of the Geriatric Depression Scale in Inpatient Health Care Settings

The content validity of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) for use in inpatient health care settings was evaluated. Clinical experience has shown that one or more questions may not be appropriate in such settings. These questions ask about behaviors or feelings with which the examinee may not be able to identify with because they have been in an inpatient setting during the past week. Twenty-five Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) evaluated the GDS-30 as to whether each item appropriately assesses the construct of depression for inpatients in a medical care setting. SMEs were identified by an online search of the Florida Division of Medical Quality Assurance database; inclusion criteria are presented. Nineteen SMEs held a Ph.D. and six held a Psy.D. Years of post-licensure practice experience ranged from 10 to 48 years with a mean of 23.12 years (SD = 10.07). Using the Content Validity Ratio, four questions emerged as inappropriate (statistically significant at, or below, an alpha level of .025). The lack of content validity of these questions necessitates their omission when psychometrically assessing depression in elderly inpatients. Recommended revised cutoff values are presented. Utilizing the recommended modification to the GDS presented here should reduce false positives when psychometrically assessing depression in elderly inpatients

A Racial/Ethnic Performance Disparity on the Facial Recognition Test

The Facial Recognition Test is a widely used psychometric instrument for assessing visuoperceptual functioning. Only two prior studies have examined the effects of race/ethnicity on this test. Given that the United States has become more culturally diverse since the creation of the test, it is important to re-visit the effects of this demographic variable on performance. Participants were 75 males and 75 females between the ages of 18 and 43 years (M = 21.91, SD = 5.33). Racial/ethnic categories utilized by the U.S. Census Bureau were equally represented. No gender differences were observed. The race/ethnicity main effect was significant. The gender x race/ethnicity interaction was not significant. The data revealed a clear racial/ethnic performance disparity on the Facial Recognition Test

The Correlation between Inattentiveness and Depression in an Adult Population Sample

Objective To test if there is a correlation between the inattentive domain of the Conners Continuous Performance Task 3rd Edition (CPT-3) and depression scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Method Adult mixed psychiatric clinical sample was derived from a large de-identified database through a SPSS descriptive statistics analysis. Participants (n = 256) were a diverse distribution of race (62.1%Caucasian,16%Latinx,12.9%African American, and 9%Other), gender (60.5%female, 39.5%male), age (27.25-years average), and education (16-years average). Each participant was administered the Conners CPT-3 to evaluate the inattentive domain which consisted of Detectability, Omissions, Commission, Hit-Reaction-Time (HRT), HRT-Standard-Deviation, and Variability; and the MMPI-2. A bivariate correlation was run to determine significance. Results The CPT-3 and MMPI-2 were correlated at p \u3c 0.01 significantly on Variability with the K-Scale (r = −1.69) and VRIN-Scale (r = 0.177). They were correlated at p \u3c 0.05 significantly on Variability with the TRIN-Scale (r = 0.126) and 2-Scale (r = 0.152); on HRT-Std-Dev with the TRIN-Scale (r = 0.127) and 1-Scale (r = 0.128); on Omissions with the VRIN-Scale (r = 0.151) and 9-Scale (r==0.126); and on Commissions with the 7-Scale (r = −0.124) and 8-Scale (r = −0.124). Conclusion Mitchell et al. (2013) conducted a study to assess the relationship between ADHD and negative automatic thoughts associated with depression in adults which found that inattentive ADHD significantly associated with negative automatic thoughts. Although the current analysis found some correlation between the measures, there was a lack of significant correlation between inattentiveness and depression. These findings are important as they contradict a criteria for depression. Further research is needed to understand the dynamic between the two measures

Societal Attitudes Influence Performance On The Cognistat Judgment Subtest

ABSTRACT: The Cognistat is a widely used screening instrument for assessing cognitive functioning. However, the manualized scoring guidelines for one of the questions in the Judgment subtest appear insensitive to responses when examinees answer in light of current societal attitudes. Penalization of examinees is likely to lead to an underestimation of functional ability and a decrease in test validity. Suggestions for correcting this issue are presented