Depression is often underdiagnosed and undertreated in primary care settings, particularly in developing countries. This is, in part, due to challenges resulting from a lack of skilled mental health workers, stigma associated with mental illness, and lack of cross-culturally validated screening instruments. We conducted this study to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) questionnaire as a screen for diagnosing major depressive disorder among adults in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 926 adults attending outpatient departments in a major referral hospital in Ethiopia participated in this study. We assessed criterion validity and performance characteristics against an independent, blinded, and psychiatrist administered semi-structured Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) interview. Overall, the PHQ-9 items showed good internal (Cronbach's alpha=0.85) and test re-test reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.92). A factor analysis confirmed a 1-factor structure. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis showed that a PHQ-9 threshold score of 10 offered optimal discriminatory power with respect to diagnosis of MDD via the clinical interview (sensitivity=86% and specificity=67%). The PHQ-9 appears to be a reliable and valid instrument that may be used to diagnose major depressive disorders among Ethiopian adults.
Child maltreatment is a robust risk factor for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents. We examined the role of disruptions in emotion regulation processes as a developmental mechanism linking child maltreatment to the onset of multiple forms of psychopathology in adolescents. Specifically, we examined whether child maltreatment was associated with emotional reactivity and maladaptive cognitive and behavioral responses to distress, including rumination and impulsive behaviors, in two separate samples. We additionally investigated whether each of these components of emotion regulation were associated with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and mediated the association between child maltreatment and psychopathology. Study 1 included a sample of 167 adolescents recruited based on exposure to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Study 2 included a sample of 439 adolescents in a community-based cohort study followed prospectively for 5 years. In both samples, child maltreatment was associated with higher levels of internalizing psychopathology, elevated emotional reactivity, and greater habitual engagement in rumination and impulsive responses to distress. In Study 2, emotional reactivity and maladaptive responses to distress mediated the association between child maltreatment and both internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. These findings provide converging evidence for the role of emotion regulation deficits as a transdiagnostic developmental pathway linking child maltreatment with multiple forms of psychopathology.
Purpose To assess the validity of a GIS measure, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), as a measure of neighborhood greenness for epidemiologic research. Methods Using remote-sensing spectral data, NDVI was calculated for a 100-m radial distance around 124 residences in greater Seattle. The criterion standard was rating of greenness for corresponding residential areas by three environmental psychologists. Pearson correlations and regression models were used to assess the association between the psychologists’ ratings of greenness and NDVI. Analyses were also stratified by residential density to assess whether the correlations differed between low and high density. Results Mean NDVI among this sample of residences was .27 (SD = 0.11; range: −.04 to .54), and the mean psychologist rating of greenness was 2.84 (SD = 0.98; range: 1 to 5). The correlation between NDVI and expert ratings of greenness was high (r = .69). The correlation was equivalently strong within each strata of residential density. Conclusions NDVI is a useful measure of neighborhood greenness. In addition to showing strong correlation with expert ratings, this measure has practical advantages including availability of data and ease of application to various boundaries which would aid in replication and comparability across studies.
This study examines rates of admission and patterns of mental health service use by persons of transition age (16-25 years) in the USA based on the nationally representative 1997 Client/Patient Sample Survey and population data from the US Census Bureau. A precipitous decline in utilization was observed at the age of emancipation: the yearly admission rate for inpatient, outpatient, and residential services was 34 per 1,000 for 16- and 17-year-olds and 18 per 1,000 for 18- and 19-year-olds. Among 20- and 21-year-olds, more were referred from criminal justice and fewer from family or friends and social services, and proportionately more were Medicaid recipients. Targeting resources to enhance shared planning between child and adult systems may facilitate continuity of care for young adult clients who are aging out of child mental health systems, as well as for those who experience their first episodes of mental disorder in early adulthood.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.