Development and Initial Validation of a Brief Mental Health Outcome Measure

Abstract

Using a combination of classical test theory and Rasch item analysis, we developed a short scale designed to measure the effectiveness of mental health treatment across a wide range of mental health services and populations. Item development for the scale was guided by literature review and interviews with senior clinicians and with patients. Using 3 different samples consisting of inpatients, outpatients, and nonpatients, we reduced our initial item pool from 81 to 10 items. The 10-item scale had an alpha of .96 and showed strong correlations with commonly used measures of psychological well-being and distress. Our results suggest that the scale appears to measure a broad domain of psychological health. The scale appeared to lack ceiling and floor effects, and it discriminated between inpatients, outpatients, and nonpatients, suggesting the scale has excellent potential to be broadly responsive to a variety of treatment effects. In addition, the new scale proved to be sensitive to treatment changes in a sample of 20 psychiatric inpatients. Overall, the initial data suggest that we have developed a brief, sensitive outcome measure designed to have wide application across psychiatric and psychological treatments and populations.

Clients' perceptions of their psychotherapists' multicultural orientation.

“…", which was rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (very good) to 5 (very poor). This item was adapted from the SOS-10 ( Blais et al, 1999). The last question was "When you started counseling, how often did you feel hopeful about your future?…”

Global and specific attachment patterns in romantic relationships : distinct and interactional functions.

“…Psychological wellbeing was measured using the Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10, Blais et al, 1999). This widely-used measure is comprised of 10 statements about the self (e.g., "I feel hopeful about my future") that are rated on a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (Never) to 7 (All the time).…”

“…1 = Strongly agree 2 = Agree 3 = Disagree 4 = Strongly disagree Appendix 4: Schwartz Outcome Scale (Blais et al, 1999) Below are 10 statements about you and your life that help us see how you feel you are doing. Please respond to each statement by circling the response number that best fits how you have generally been over the last seven days (1 week).…”

Spiritual transcendence as a sixth personality factor in Russia : cross-cultural generalizability and influence on psychosocial outcomes.

“…It was initially designed to assess treatment outcomes for inpatient and outpatient clients (Blais et al, 1999 answered on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (all of the time or nearly all of the time). The measure asks participants to rate the items based on how they have been feeling in the past 7 days (e.g., "I am able to have fun"; "My life is progressing according to my expectations").…”

“…The SOS-10 has been found to have strong internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = .96) and item-to-scale correlations ranging from .74 to .90 (Blais et al, 1999). Furthermore, the SOS-10 has demonstrated good construct validity, as it has been associated with measures of mental health (Blais et al, 1999;, depression and anxiety (Dragomirecka et al, 2006), substance use (Laux & Ahern, 2003), maladjustment and distress in college students (Young et al, 2003) and the five-factor model (Haggerty, Blake, Naraine, Siefert, & Blais, 2010). The current study evidenced good internal consistency of the scale (Cronbach's alpha of .87).…”