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Comprehension and Motivation in Responses to a Psychiatric Screening Instrument Validity of the SRQ in Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Frank Kortmann  and
Sineke Ten Horn
Frank Kortmann*
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Hospital Wolfheze
Sineke Ten Horn
Affiliation:
Dept of Social Psychiatry, University of Groningen
*
∗Psychiatric Hospital Wolfheze, Wolfheze 2, 6874 BE Wolfheze, The Netherlands
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Abstract

The Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), a psychiatric-case-finding instrument designed by the WHO for developing countries, was tested in Ethiopia. It was submitted to 40 patients attending a psychiatric clinic, 30 at a somatic clinic, and 40 subjects not attending a clinic. Forty per cent of the yes-answers were rated as invalid. The concept-invalidity contributed mainly to the rather poor criterion-validity of the SRQ. In addition, clinic patients seemed to heighten the number of yes-answers to express their need for help. The SRQ measured not only psychiatric complaints but also illness behaviour, even without the presence of any illness. This is a substantial disadvantage if the SRQ is applied to detect the psychiatric cases in the primary-care facilities.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 153 , Issue 1 , July 1988 , pp. 95 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

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