Background: Rater agreement is important in clinical research, and Cohen's Kappa is a widely used method for assessing inter-rater reliability; however, there are well documented statistical problems associated with the measure. In order to assess its utility, we evaluated it against Gwet's AC1 and compared the results.

To provide a contemporary global prevalence of mental health issues among the general population amid the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We searched electronic databases, preprint databases, grey literature, and unpublished studies from January 1, 2020, to June 16, 2020 (updated on July 11, 2020), with no language restrictions. Observational studies using validated measurement tools and reporting data on mental health issues among the general population were screened to identify all relevant studies. We have included information from 32 different countries and 398,771 participants. The pooled prevalence of mental health issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic varied widely across countries and regions and was higher than previous reports before the COVID-19 outbreak began. The global prevalence estimate was 28.0% for depression; 26.9% for anxiety; 24.1% for post-traumatic stress symptoms; 36.5% for stress; 50.0% for psychological distress; and 27.6% for sleep problems. Data are limited for other aspects of mental health issues. Our findings highlight the disparities between countries in terms of the poverty impacts of COVID-19, preparedness of countries to respond, and economic vulnerabilities that impact the prevalence of mental health problems. Research on the social and economic burden is needed to better manage mental health problems during and after epidemics or pandemics. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD 42020177120.

BackgroundAmong the stress instruments that measure the degree to which life events are perceived as stressful, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is widely used. The goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Thai version of the PSS-10 (T-PSS-10) with a clinical and non-clinical sample. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and the factorial structure of the scale were tested.MethodsA total sample of 479 adult participants was recruited for the study: 368 medical students and 111 patients from two hospitals in Northern Thailand. The T-PSS-10 was used along with the Thai version of State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Thai Version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Thai Depression Inventory (TDI).ResultsExploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) yielded 2 factors with eigenvalues of 5.05 and 1.60, accounting for 66 percent of variance. Factor 1 consisted of 6 items representing "stress"; whereas Factor 2 consisted of 4 items representing "control". The item loadings ranged from 0.547 to 0.881. Investigation of the fit indices associated with Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation revealed that the two-factor solution was adequate [χ2 = 35.035 (df = 26, N = 368, p < 0.111)]; Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) = 0.981; Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) = 0.022; Standardized Root Mean square Residual (SRMR) = 0.037, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.989; Normed Fit Index (NFI) = 0.96, Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI) = 0.981, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.031. It was found that the T-PSS-10 had a significant positive correlation with the STAI (r = 0.60, p < 0.0001), and the TDI (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001); and was significantly negatively correlated with the RSES (r = -0.46, p < 0.0001, N = 368). The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.85. The ICC was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.72 and 0.88) at 4 week-retest reliability.ConclusionsThe Thai version of the PSS-10 demonstrated excellent goodness-of-fit for the two factor solution model, as well as good reliability and validity for estimating the level of stress perception with a Thai population. Limitations of the study are discussed.

This study examines the Thai version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) for its psychometric properties. Methods: In total 462 participants were recruited - 310 medical students from Chiang Mai University and 152 psychiatric patients, and they completed the Thai version of the MSPSS, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Thai Depression Inventory (TDI). Test-retest reliability was conducted over a four week period. Results: Factor analysis produced three-factor solutions for both patient (PG) and student groups (SG), and overall the model demonstrated adequate fit indices. The mean total score and the sub-scale score for the SG were statistically higher than those in the PG, except for ‘Significant Others’. The internal consistency of the scale was good, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91 for the SG and 0.87 for the PG. After a four week retest for reliability exercise, the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was found to be 0.84. The Thai-MSPSS was found to have a negative correlation with the STAI and the TDI, but was positively correlated with the RSES. Conclusion: The Thai MSPSS is a reliable and valid instrument to use.