Are problems prevalent and stable in non-clinical populations? Problems and test-retest stability of a patient-generated measure, PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles), in a non-clinical student sample

ABSTRACT

In straightened times counselling must evidence the changes it promotes on reputable measures. Patient-generated measures complement nomothetic measures and may be nearer the ethos of counselling in eliciting individuals' problems. Scores from such measures from non-clinical samples are rarely reported, making their test-retest stability uncertain. We report the prevalence and stability of self-reported problems using PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) in a non-clinical student population. PSYCHLOPS is a four-item, self-administered, patient-generated instrument. PSYCHLOPS was completed twice, 7–10 days apart. A wide range of problems was reported and showed satisfactory test-retest stability: Pearson, 0.66; Spearman, 0.68; intra-class correlation coefficient, 0.70. This is reassuring as instability would undermine PSYCHLOPS as a sensitive change measure.

Keywords:

• patient-generated measures
• test-retest stability

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the staff and students of the three educational institutions that participated in our study. This work was funded through a grant made by the Research and Development Centre (R&DC), Southwark PCT. MA has been part funded by the South Thames Research Network (STaRNet), London.