Lionel S Lim1, Donald E Williams, Philip T Hagen. 1. Division of Preventive and Occupational Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. lionel_lim@hotmail.com
Abstract
PURPOSE: To validate a five-point self-rated stress score (SRSS) with the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire in identifying psychological distress. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 266 consecutive patients seen in the division of clinical health psychology. Patients were asked to rate their stress level on a numeric score from 1 (low stress) to 5 (high stress). Patients also completed the SCL-90-R questionnaire, from which the Global Severity Index (GSI) was calculated. RESULTS: The SRSS correlated positively with the GSI (r = .40, p < .001). After multivariate adjustment, the odds ratio of psychological distress for patients with an SRSS of 2, 3, 4, and 5 relative to those with low stress were 2.6 (p = .30), 2.4 (p = .30), 6.1 (p < .05), and 24.8 (p < .001). DISCUSSION: Patients with the highest self-rated stress levels have a significantly increased risk of psychological distress. The SRSS is simple to administer in the outpatient setting and may be a useful instrument in screening for psychological distress.
PURPOSE: To validate a five-point self-rated stress score (SRSS) with the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire in identifying psychological distress. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 266 consecutive patients seen in the division of clinical health psychology. Patients were asked to rate their stress level on a numeric score from 1 (low stress) to 5 (high stress). Patients also completed the SCL-90-R questionnaire, from which the Global Severity Index (GSI) was calculated. RESULTS: The SRSS correlated positively with the GSI (r = .40, p < .001). After multivariate adjustment, the odds ratio of psychological distress for patients with an SRSS of 2, 3, 4, and 5 relative to those with low stress were 2.6 (p = .30), 2.4 (p = .30), 6.1 (p < .05), and 24.8 (p < .001). DISCUSSION: Patients with the highest self-rated stress levels have a significantly increased risk of psychological distress. The SRSS is simple to administer in the outpatient setting and may be a useful instrument in screening for psychological distress.
Authors: Mark W Steffen; Mohammad Hassan Murad; J Taylor Hays; Richard D Newcomb; Robin G Molella; Stephen S Cha; Philip T Hagen Journal: Popul Health Manag Date: 2014-01-29 Impact factor: 2.459