A multilevel longitudinal study of obsessive compulsive symptoms in adolescence: Male gender and emotional stability as protective factors
- Authors: Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Moore, Kathleen , Lazaratou, Helen , Dikeos, Dimitris , Gomez, Rapson
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Annals of General Psychiatry Vol. 16, no. 42 (2017), p.1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The severity of obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) is suggested to be normally distributed in the general population, and they appear to have an impact on a range of aspects of adolescent development. Importantly, there are individual differences regarding susceptibility to OCS. In the present repeated measures study, OCS were studied in relation to gender and emotional stability (as a personality trait) using a normative sample of 515 adolescents at ages 16 and 18 years. OCS were assessed with the relevant subscale of the SCL-90-R and emotional stability with the Five Factor Questionnaire. A three-level hierarchical linear model was calculated to longitudinally assess the over time variations of OCS and their over time links to gender and emotional stability, while controlling for random effects due to the nesting of the data. Experiencing OCS increased with age (between 16 and 18 years). Additionally, male gender and higher emotional stability were associated with lower OCS at 16 years and these remained stable over time. Results indicate age-related and between individual differences on reported OCS that need to be considered for prevention and intervention planning.
The Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI): Validity and reliability in an adolescent population [Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI): Validez y fiabilidad en una poblacin adolescente
- Authors: Bermejo, Ross , Garcia-Lopez, Luis , Hidalgo, Maria , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Anales de Psicologia Vol. 27, no. 2 (2011), p. 342-349
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Although there are numerous self-report measures to assess social anxiety in adults, and an increasing number in adolescents, only one scale designed during the last decade, the Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI; Moore & Gee, 2003) has included an item to tap DSM-IV criterion F of social anxiety disorder (i.e. social anxiety must be present for at least six months). However, questions remain regarding the validity of the SoPhI in other languages and cultures. To address this problem the SoPhI was administered in two studies: firstly, to 457 adolescents from a community sample in order to test the internal consistency and factor analysis of the scale; and secondly, to a clinical sample comprising 114 participants with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, and a control group consisting of 78 adolescents with no diagnosis of social anxiety disorder. The scale showed good psychometric properties, including test-retest reliability, convergent validity, internal consistency, and a single-factor structure similar to the original study. Together these findings support the use of the SoPhI in a language other than English and for this range of ages.