The Padua Inventory–Washington State University Revision of Obsessions and Compulsions: A Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The Padua Inventory–Washington State University Revision (PI–WSUR) is a frequently used test to assess obsessive–compulsive symptoms in screening and clinical contexts. A reliability generalization meta-analysis was carried out to estimate the average reliability of the PI–WSUR scores and its subscales and to search for characteristics of the studies that can explain the heterogeneity among reliability coefficients. A total of 124 independent samples reported some coefficient alpha or test–retest correlation with the data at hand for the PI–WSUR scores. The average internal consistency reliability of the PI–WSUR total scores was .929 (95% CI [.922, .936]), and for the subscales, the means ranged from .792 to .900. The test–retest reliability for PI–WSUR total scores was .767 (95% CI [.700, .820]), with the subscales ranging from .540 to .790. Moderator analyses revealed a positive relationship between the standard deviation of PI–WSUR total scores and alpha coefficients, as well as higher reliability estimates for the original version of the test and for studies from North America. The reliability induction rate for the PI–WSUR was 53.7%. Regarding reliability, the PI–WSUR ranks among the best scales for assessing obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Internal consistency reliability was excellent for the PI–WSUR total score and good for the subscales.

Acknowledgments

The complete database, analytic methods, and study materials are available to other researchers in the website www.um.es/metaanalysis. In addition, any other information can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request. This research was not preregistered.

Notes

1 The database with 105 studies, the statistical methods used in the analyses, and materials used to conduct this research can be obtained from the corresponding author on request.

2 This study was carried out in Europe and South America.

3 Category composed of four studies performed combining various geographic locations. Of the four studies, one was conducted in Europe and South America, two in North America and South Africa, and the remaining three in Australia and North America.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government and by funds from the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER; Project No. PSI2016-77676-P). The funding sponsor had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the article for publication.