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A key informant needs assessment of an adult population: Application to consultation and prevention programs
Author(s) -
Snow David L.,
Gersick Kelin E.,
Leslie Leigh,
Lyons Michael,
Russell David,
Adkins Elizabeth,
Kazak Anne
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(198704)15:2<161::aid-jcop2290150207>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - seriousness , respondent , mental health , psychology , population , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health , political science , law
Sixty‐three key informants first identified the four most important problems confronting adults between the ages of 30 and 40 years and then responded to a series of open‐ended questions in relation to the two most important problems identified. Respondents then rated a list of life events and problem areas as to their seriousness and prevalence and identified those they viewed as most important. Respondent‐generated problems, in order of importance, were financial, employment, parenting, health/mental health, and marital. As examples of the qualitative outcomes of the open‐ended questions, responses are summarized in this article for two problems: financial and parenting. The two most important problems identified from the rating scales were financial troubles and divorce, followed by a number of items pertaining to mental health, child‐rearing, and marital problems. The discussion focuses on considerations of reliability and validity and on implications of the findings for the design of services.