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Psychometric properties of the Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) among individuals with schizophrenia living in the community

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Abstract

Introduction

Symptoms and cognitive impairments of schizophrenia affect social integration and functioning. Accurate measurement is essential in evaluating treatment needs and outcomes. The Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP; Morosini et al. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 101(4):323–329, 2000) is a clinical tool assessing social functioning in rehabilitation settings.

Methods

One hundred and twenty-nine patient/informant dyads at eight US sites participated in this study. Patients were at least 18 years old, have had schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder for one year or more, and were currently residing in the community. Informants were at least 21 years old, cared for the patient for at least one month, and had contact at least twice weekly. The PSP, Personal Evaluation of Transitions in Treatment (PETiT), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impressions—Severity (CGI-S), and Quality of Life Scale (QLS) tools were completed. Analyses focused on descriptive statistics, item characteristics, reliability, and validity.

Results

Patients were community-dwelling outpatients without severe difficulties. The PSP scores were well correlated with each other and related measures. Socially useful activities and personal and social relationships were the strongest indicators, suggesting separate aspects of functioning. Internal consistency reliability was adequate (α = 0.76). The PSP was sensitive to differences in social functioning by clinical severity.

Conclusions

The PSP suggested scale reliability and validity among outpatients. Future examination should expand validity analyses and evaluate responsiveness.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

CGI-S:

Clinical Global Impressions—Severity

DSM-IV:

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition

GAF:

Global Assessment of Functioning scale

HRQL:

Health-related quality of life

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

IRB:

Institutional Review Board

MCID:

Minimum clinically important difference

PANSS:

Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale

PETiT:

Personal Evaluation of Transitions in Treatment

PSP:

Personal and Social Performance scale

QLS:

Quality of Life Scale

SAS:

Statistical Analysis System

SD:

Standard deviation

SOFAS:

Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale

™:

Trademark

VADO:

Skills assessment and definition of goals (translated into English)

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Acknowledgments

This research was sponsored by Wyeth Research, Collegeville, PA. We thank David Strutton, PhD and Arthur S. Zbrozek, MS at Wyeth Research for their support in implementing the study and their helpful comments toward improving this paper. Alan S. Bellack, PhD, ABPP at the University of Maryland and Kim T. Mueser, PhD at New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center provided thoughtful review and assistance in the development of a conceptual framework and revision of item content. Jennifer Hanlon, MPH, Sally Mannix, BA, and Meghan Werner, MPP provided project management support throughout the study and Sandra Macker, BS provided statistical programming support. Also, we thank the many staff members who worked on this project at each study site, in particular, José M. Canive, MD, F.R.C.P. and Robin R. Douglas, MA, CCRC at New Mexico VA Healthcare System; Deepak D’Souza, MD and Corie Palazzolo, BA at Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University; Robert L. Weisman, DO and Lisa McCartan, MA, CCRC at Strong Ties Community Support Program, University of Rochester Medical Center; Scott Stroup, MD, MPH and Marianne Livingston, LCSW at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Henry A. Nasrallah, MD and Tracie Northern, MA at Psychiatric Professional Services, Inc., University of Cincinnati Medical Center; Corinne Cather, PhD and Thomas W. Quinlin, BA at North Suffolk Mental Health Association, Freedom Trail Clinic; Irving Belz, MD and Susan Lyngaas, LSW at Tri-County Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR) Services; and Saroj Brar, MD and Mira Sugar, RN of Cleveland, OH.

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  1. United BioSource Corporation, Center for Health Outcomes Research, 7101 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 600, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA

    Ariane K. Kawata & Dennis A. Revicki

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  1. Ariane K. Kawata
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Correspondence to Ariane K. Kawata.

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Kawata, A.K., Revicki, D.A. Psychometric properties of the Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) among individuals with schizophrenia living in the community. Qual Life Res 17, 1247–1256 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-008-9400-z

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