Factor structure and psychometric properties of the german version chronic uncertainty scale (CU-20).

Background: The experience of uncertainty is ubiquitous and universal across the globe. Many available tools measuring uncertainty are focused on one aspect of uncertainty, e.g.

Identifying Patterns of Self-Reported Nonadherence Using Network Analysis in a Mixed German Cohort.

Purpose: Nonadherence is a complex behaviour that contributes to poor health outcomes; therefore, it is necessary to understand its underlying structure. Network analysis is a novel approach to explore the relationship between multiple variables.

Patients And Methods: Patients from four different studies (N = 1.

A New Routine for Analyzing Brief Symptom Inventory Profiles in Chronic Pain Patients to Evaluate Psychological Comorbidity.

Comorbidity, i.e., additional psychological distress in patients already suffering from chronic somatic diseases (e.

Medication Adherence and Coping with Disease in Patients from a Neurological Clinic: An Observational Study.

Purpose: Medication non-adherence is a huge concern for the medical community. For chronic, especially neurological diseases, taking medication is a central pillar of treatment. To improve adherence to these oftentimes complex medication regimens, the construct needs to be understood in more depth.

Clusters of non-adherence to medication in neurological patients.

Background: Non-adherence to medication is a common and serious problem in health care. To develop more effective interventions to improve adherence, there is a need for a better understanding of the individual types of non-adherence.

Objective: To determine clusters of non-adherence in neurological patients using a complex adherence questionnaire.

Comparison of anonymous versus nonanonymous responses to a medication adherence questionnaire in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Purpose: Adherence to medication can be assessed by various self-report questionnaires. One could hypothesize that survey respondents tend to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others. We aimed to answer if anonymous and nonanonymous responses to a questionnaire on medication adherence differ.

Norm values and psychometric properties of the brief symptom inventory-18 regarding individuals between the ages of 60 and 95.

Objective: The SCL-90 and the SCL-90-R are the most applied measures regarding psychological distress. To reduce and prevent an overload to of the individuals, the Brief Symptom Inventory with 18 items (BSI-18) was developed based on the SCL-90. Since psychological disorders more frequently occur at an older age, there is a growing need for efficient instruments to measure distress in the elderly.

Development of OSTQOL: A Measure of Quality of Life for Patients in Opioid Substitution Treatment.

Background: Quality of life (QOL) of patients in opioid substitution treatment (OST) is increasingly being addressed in research. However, no disease- or treatment-specific instrument is available to assess the QOL of this target population. The purpose of this project was to develop the first QOL instrument for OST patients.

[Healthy Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A Mixed-methods Pilot Study].

Healthy Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A Mixed-methods Pilot Study Healthy siblings of chronically ill and/or disabled children may have an increased risk of developing behavioral problems; this is particularly given for siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Quality of life and distress of five siblings (12-15 years) of children with ASD were examined using self- and parent-proxy-reports.

Psychometric analysis of the brief symptom inventory 18 (BSI-18) in a representative German sample.

Background: The BSI-18 contains the three six-item scales somatization, depression, and anxiety as well as the Global Severity Index (GSI), including all 18 items. The BSI-18 is the latest and shortest of the multidimensional versions of the Symptom-Checklist 90-R, but its psychometric properties have not been sufficiently clarified yet.

Methods: Based on a representative sample of N = 2516 participants (aged 14-94 years), detailed psychometric analyses were carried out.

Mental distress in patients with cerebral visual injury assessed with the german brief symptom inventory.

Background: While there are reports on vision-related quality of life in patients with vision impairment caused by both ophthalmic and brain diseases, little is known about mental distress. In fact, mental distress after cerebral visual injury has been widely ignored.

Methods: Mental health symptoms were assessed in 122 participants with visual field defects after brain damage (72 male, mean age 58.

[Review Model for the Assessment of Psychometric Instruments--Recommendations of the German College of Psychosomatic Medicine (DKPM)].

Objectives: Psychometric instruments are commonly applied in psychotherapeutic research and care for the baseline assessment of symptoms, the planning of therapeutic interventions, the assessment of the longitudinal course of symptoms and outcomes of therapeutic interventions as well as quality management of care. Psychometric properties as well as economic aspects should be considered in the selection of specific instruments. It is assumed that users of psychometric instruments face a great variety of instruments and related information.

[The usefulness of the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18) in psychotherapeutic patients].

The BSI-18, an abridged version of the Brief Symptom Inventory of Derogatis, contains the 3 six items scales Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, and the Global Score (GSI). In a sample of N=638 psychotherapeutic patients, reliability and validity were proven. Reliability of the 3 scales was good: Somatization α=0.

From symptom relief to interpersonal change: Treatment outcome and effectiveness in inpatient psychotherapy.

This study evaluated the impact of psychodynamic inpatient psychotherapy on patients' psychological distress and interpersonal problems during the course of treatment and 1 year later. A total of 156 patients were assessed with the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems at intake, 4 weeks later, and at the end of therapy. The follow-up assessment was conducted 1 year later.

Alexithymia and outcome in psychotherapy.

Background: About 25% of all patients seeking psychotherapeutic treatment are considered to be alexithymic. Alexithymia has been assumed to be negatively associated with therapeutic outcome. On the other hand, it is unclear to which extent alexithymia itself may be modified by psychotherapeutic interventions.

The impact of living-related kidney transplantation on the donor's life.

Background: Living-donation kidney transplantation (LDKT) is increasingly performed for treatment of chronic renal failure. Recently, risks for the donor and problems in decision-making have been stressed. This study was conducted to illuminate the decision making-process and consequences of LDKT on family life, the financial and occupational situation.

The impact of diagnosis and plaque radiotherapy treatment of malignant choroidal melanoma on patients' quality of life.

Quality of life (QOL) has become an important outcome criterion of medical interventions, but the impact of diagnosis and radiotherapy on QOL in patients with malignant choroidal melanoma (MCM) has rarely been studied. Inventories covering global (SF-36) and disease-specific QOL (NEI-VFQ), mental distress (SCL-90-R), and social support (K-22, German) were applied to a consecutive sample of MCM-patients scheduled for plaque radiotherapy. Data were gathered preoperatively (t(0)) and 3 months postoperatively (t(1), except for the K-22, which was applied at t(0) only).

[Does improvement of symptoms four weeks after the begin of psychodynamic inpatient psychotherapy correspond to long term outcome?].

Objectives: This study was conducted to explore differentiated aspects of outcome throughout and one year after psychodynamic inpatient psychotherapy with special regard to symptomatic distress and interpersonal behaviour.

Methods: Sixty-four patients of the Department of Psychotherapeutic Medicine of the Jerichow Hospital (Saxonia-Anhaltina) were investigated with the SCL-90-R and the IIP-D four times: at the beginning of inpatient psychotherapy (t0), four weeks after (t1), at the end (t2), and one year after discharge (t3).

Results: The improvement of symptoms four weeks after the beginning of psychodynamic inpatient psychotherapy is equivalent with long term outcome.

[Rehabilitation-psychological aspects of uveitis].

Until today little is known about the psychosomatic aspects of uveitis. The hypothesis that stressful life events are associated with the onset of diseases and that uveitis led to poor quality of life are discussed in the actual literature. Life events (Schedule of Recent Experiences), coping strategies (Coping Questionnaire; Essen Coping Questionnaire), psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory), and vision-specific quality of life (National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire) of 51 patients with uveitis and 51 strict parallel controls were compared with another.

[Symptoms and personality traits of East and West German psychotherapy patients with anxiety and depressive disorders].

The aim of this study is to explore symptoms and personality traits of patients from two Psychosomatic University Departments, one in Düsseldorf (West Germany) and the other in Magdeburg (East Germany), suffering from anxiety disorders and depression. 560 unselected outpatients with anxiety disorders and depression were examined with the Symptom-Checklist (SCL-90-R) and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-D). The ratio of these two diagnostic groups in relation to the total number of outpatients in both clinics was analysed.

Clorazepate dipotassium versus midazolam for premedication in clear corneal cataract surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of oral clorazepate dipotassium (Tranxilium) and intravenous midazolam (Dormicum) as premedication agents in retrobulbar anesthesia and clear corneal phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Essen, Essen, Germany.

Methods: In a prospective clinical trial, 97 consecutive patients (97 eyes) having phacoemulsification with implantation of a foldable IOL were randomized to 2 groups.

Quality of life in patients with malignant choroidal melanoma after radiotherapy.

Background: Patient-orientated endpoints have attracted little attention in patients with malignant choroidal melanoma. This study was conducted to explore the long-term effects of malignant choroidal melanoma and radiotherapy on QOL by means of a differentiated and modular QOL approach, including global QOL, social support, and mental health, in comparison with sociodemographically matched healthy controls.

Methods: A random sample of 100 outpatients treated by radiotherapy were asked by mail to take part in a psychodiagnostic study [instruments: Short-Form 36 Health-Survey (SF-36), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, German Social Support Questionnaire].

Aspects of quality of life through end-stage renal disease.

This study was conducted to explore differentiated aspects of quality of life (QoL) throughout the course of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with special regard to kidney transplantation (KTX). In detail two questions were addressed: (1) does social support change over time? and (2) is psychological distress a predictor of generic and disease-specific QoL? Two groups of ESRD-patients were investigated twice with different psychodiagnostic inventories. At t0 the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and a validated German Social Support Questionnaire were administered.

[Quality of life in patients before and after kidney transplantation].

The presented study was carried out to differentially assess the quality of life (QOL) of two patient groups with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with regard to the replacement therapy (dialysis vs. transplantation) and healthy controls. Successfully transplanted patients (n = 149) and patients treated by dialysis (n = 149) on the waiting list for transplantation at the Transplant Center Essen, Germany were enrolled.