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Utility of the Outcome Questionnaire‐45.2 in outpatient anxiety clinics: A comparison between anxiety patients with and without co‐occurring depression
Author(s) -
Levy Hannah C.,
Billingsley Amber L.,
Springer Kristen S.,
Hannan Scott,
Das Akanksha,
Tolin David F.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22611
Subject(s) - anxiety , depression (economics) , psychology , clinical psychology , distress , cutoff , psychometrics , psychiatry , psychological distress , physics , quantum mechanics , economics , macroeconomics
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.