Open AccessTesting the Short and Screener versions of the Social Adjustment Scale – Self‐report (SAS‐SR)
Author(s) -
Gameroff Marc J.,
Wickramaratne Priya,
Weissman Myrna M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of methods in psychiatric research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.275
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1557-0657
pISSN - 1049-8931
DOI - 10.1002/mpr.358
Subject(s) - psychology , checklist , scale (ratio) , reliability (semiconductor) , short forms , test (biology) , mental health , clinical psychology , psychometrics , psychiatry , cartography , paleontology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , cognitive psychology , biology , geography
The 54‐item Social Adjustment Scale – Self‐report (SAS‐SR) is a measure of social functioning used in research studies and clinical practice. Two shortened versions were recently developed: the 24‐item SAS‐SR: Short and the 14‐item SAS‐SR: Screener. We briefly describe the development of the shortened scales and then assess their reliability and validity in comparison to the full SAS‐SR in new analyses from two separate samples of convenience from a family study and from a primary care clinic. Compared to the full SAS‐SR, the shortened scales performed well, exhibiting high correlations with full SAS‐SR scores ( r values between 0.81 and 0.95); significant correlations with health‐related quality of life as measured by the Short Form 36 Health Survey; the ability to distinguish subjects with major depression versus other psychiatric disorders versus no mental disorders; and sensitivity to change in clinical status as measured longitudinally with the Symptom Checklist‐90 and Global Assessment Scale. The SAS‐SR: Short and SAS‐SR: Screener retained the areas assessed by the full SAS‐SR with fewer items in each area, and appear to be promising replacements for the full scale when a shorter administration time is desired and detailed information on performance in different areas is not required. Further work is needed to test the validity of the shortened measures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.