Utility of the Outcome Questionnaire‐45.2 in outpatient anxiety clinics: A comparison between anxiety patients with and without co‐occurring depression. Issue 9 (15th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Levy, Hannah C.; Billingsley, Amber L.; Springer, Kristen S.; Hannan, Scott; Das, Akanksha; Tolin, David F.
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical psychology. Volume 74:Issue 9(2018)
• Page Start: 1570
• Page End: 1582
• Publication Date: 2018-03-15
• Subjects: anxiety -- assessment -- Outcome Questionnaire‐45.2 -- questionnaire -- transdiagnostic; Psychology -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22611
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-9762

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: The Outcome Questionnaire‐45.2 (OQ‐45) is a self‐report measure of general psychological distress. Although intended to be transdiagnostic, the OQ‐45 may be best conceptualized as a measure of depression; as such, its utility in assessing other symptoms such as anxiety is unclear. Method: We examined scores on the OQ‐45 in a sample of 329 patients with anxiety and related disorders, half of whom had co‐occurring depression. Results: Eighty‐two percent of patients scored above the OQ‐45 cutoff, whereas 18% were incorrectly screened out. Patients with co‐occurring depression were more likely to score above the OQ‐45 cutoff than nondepressed patients. Depression severity predicted many of the OQ‐45 scales, even after controlling for anxiety severity. By contrast, most of the anxiety‐specific measures failed to predict the OQ‐45 after controlling for depression severity. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the OQ‐45 may not adequately capture anxiety symptoms and are discussed in terms of diagnostic screening and assessment.