The results of a child’s IQ test relate significantly to the occupational success he achieves when he grows into an adult. The test is said to have a high:
B. Validity is a property that refers to whether a test measures what it is supposed to measure. Predictive validity is the degree to which a test predicts some criterion that might be achieved in the future (e.g. whether a child’s IQ test predicts occupational success when he/she grows into an adult). A test is said to possess good concurrent validity if scores on the test correlate with a gold standard or other diagnostic test used for the same purpose (e.g. if scores on HAMD are higher in those people with a severe rather than mild or moderate depressive disorder according to ICD 10, then HAMD is said to possess high concurrent validity). The above two types of validity together constitute criterion validity. Face validity refers to whether a test seems purposeful and sensible with regard to the tested domain to the person completing it. Content validity refers to the representativeness and relevance of the assessment instrument to the construct being measured. Construct validity checks whether a test measures a specified and well-defined construct. For example, if a test is measuring depression, there should not be clusters of items that seem to measure symptoms of mania; the test should correlate with other measures of depression (convergent validity); it should not correlate with measures that are irrelevant to depression (divergent validity).
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Which of the following is a structured diagnostic instrument used in population surveys to measure disease prevalence?
D. The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) comprises 11 items corresponding to the published core symptoms of mania. Four items are graded on a scale of 0–8 and have double weight; the remaining seven items are graded on a scale of 0–4. The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) is a 30-item rating instrument specifically designed to assess the psychopathology of schizophrenic patients. Subscores of the PANSS are positive, negative, general psychopathology, and affective symptoms composite scores. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a 14-item self-report scale that was developed originally to indicate the possible presence of anxiety and depressive states in medical outpatients. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a 16-item scale with nine general symptom items, fi ve positive-symptom items,and two negative-symptom items. It is a clinician-completed scale often used in schizophrenia medication trials.
Chris was confronted by a snake while hiking in a tropical forest. He later argued that the ‘fear’ he experienced was due to the tremors, muscle tension and sweating that occurred immediately upon seeing the snake.
Which of the following theories is he using to explain the origin of his emotions?
B. He is using the James–Lange theory of emotions. According to the James–Lange theory of emotion, the perception of the stimulus leads to physiological arousal. The interpretation of the physiological arousal leads to the affective experience of the emotion. For example, ‘I feel afraid because my heart is pounding’. According to Cannon–Bard theory, perception of an emotionally relevant stimulus leads to the physiological and emotional arousal at the same time. Cannon and Bard attributed this to stimulation of the hypothalamus and the autonomic areas at the same time. In the Schacter–Singer theory (two factor theory), a person labels the pounding of the heart as fear because he appraises the situation of being in the midst of a snake as dangerous. So according to Schacter, the same physiological feeling can elicit different emotions depending upon the appraisal made by the subject from his situation. For example, pounding of the heart can be due to fear of the snake, anxiety secondary to exams and joy (or fear!) of meeting one’s spouse. Opponent-process theory is a theory of colour vision.
A psychiatrist wants to use a self-administered scale to assess the presence of depressive symptoms in a community-resident elderly patient.
Which one of the following will he use?
A. The CES-D is the most widely used screening instrument for depression in communityresident elderly because of the availability of normative population data. The GDS (Geriatric depression scale), developed specifically to screen older persons for the presence of depressive symptoms, has not been standardized for use in community populations. The Carroll Rating Scale for Depression, based on the Hamilton Depression Scale, has not been used extensively in elderly people. HAM-D includes many somatic elements of depression, which are often positive even in the absence of depression among elderly people due to high prevalence of physical health problems. It is observer rated and not self administered. BPRS does not look for the presence or absence of depression.
Matthew is a 3-year-old boy referred to the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team with a history of poor scholastic performance.
Which of the following scales is considered appropriate to evaluate his intelligence quotient?
A. The Stanford–Binet scale is suitable for children between 2 and 4 years since it does not rely exclusively on language. It is also applicable for other age groups. The Denver Developmental Scale is used to assess the attainment of developmental milestones in children up to age 5. The WAIS-R (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) is used for individuals aged 17 and over. The WISC III (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) is useful for evaluating children aged 6–16. The WPPSI (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence) is used for children aged 4–6.
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