Abbreviated assessment of psychopathology in patients with suspected seizure disorders

Objectives: Psychopathology is common in patients undergoing investigation for seizure-related disorders. Psychometric examination using self-report instruments, such as the SCL-90-R, can assist diagnosis. The SCL-90-R, however, is a lengthy instrument and might not be tolerated by all patients. We assessed several abbreviated forms of the SCL-90-R in patients undergoing video encephalographic monitoring (VEM). Methods: 687 patients completed the SCL-90-R and scores were computed for the full SCL-90-R and five abbreviated forms. Correlations and mean differences were computed between different forms. Classification accuracy was assessed via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and measurements models were examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: All abbreviated forms were strongly correlated with the SCL-90-R for general psychopathology (r = .93 - .99), depression (r = .89 - .95), and anxiety (r = .97 - .98). Classification performance was similar across forms, showing high negative predictive values for depression and anxiety (.90 - .94), but lower positive predictive values (.34 - .38). Differences were observed between the full SCL-90-R and its abbreviated forms across most domains (d = 0.00 - 0.65). The published measurement model was most strongly validated for the SCL-27, SCL-14, and the SCL-K-9. Conclusions: These five SCL-90-R abbreviated forms show high convergent validity with the full version. In patients undergoing investigation for seizure-related disorders, the BSI or BSI- 18 are most appropriate where screening for both depression and anxiety is required. The SCL-K-9 is appropriate when only a single measure of global psychological distress is required. Caution should be exercised when making direct comparisons across the different forms.