Psychiatric symptoms and response quality to self-rated personality tests: Evidence from the PsyCoLaus study. (June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dupuis, Marc; Meier, Emanuele; Rudaz, Dominique; Strippoli, Marie-Pierre F.; Castelao, Enrique; Preisig, Martin; Capel, Roland; Vandeleur, Caroline L.
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 252(2017)
• Page Start: 118
• Page End: 125
• Publication Date: 2017-06
• Subjects: Functional method -- Psychiatric symptoms -- Response reliability -- Response validity -- Personality assessment inventory -- Self-rated questionnaires; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.02.037
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-1781

Abstract

Abstract: Despite the fact that research has demonstrated consistent associations between self-rated measures of personality dimensions and mental disorders, little has been undertaken to investigate the relation between psychiatric symptoms and response patterns to self-rated tests. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between psychiatric symptoms and response quality using indices from our functional method. A sample of 1, 784 participants from a Swiss population-based cohort completed a personality inventory (NEO-FFI) and a symptom checklist of 90 items (SCL-90-R). Different indices of response quality were calculated based on the responses given to the NEO-FFI. Associations among the responses to indices of response quality, sociodemographic characteristics and the SCL-90-R dimensions were then established. Psychiatric symptoms were associated with several important differences in response quality, questioning subjects' ability to provide valid information using self-rated instruments. As suggested by authors, psychiatric symptoms seem associated with differences in personality scores. Nonetheless, our study shows that symptoms are also related to differences in terms of response patterns as sources of differences in personality scores. This could constitute a bias for clinical assessment. Future studies could still determine whether certain subpopulations of subjects are more unable to provide valid information to self-rated questionnaires than others. Highlights: We assessed the quality of self-ratings of personality among the comunity. The associations between psychiatric symptoms and response quality were measured. Some indices of response quality were largely predicted by symptoms. Our findings question the use of self-ratings among some clinical populations.