Evaluation of risk by patients' and with clinicians' ratings: a CORE-OM and CORE-A investigation.

While Whewell and Bonanno reported significant relationships between therapists' ratings of risk and patients' ratings of categorized Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measures (CORE-OM) risk items, Rowsell and Stennett-Cox found that only two non-risk items of the total 34 CORE-OM items correlated significantly with reported risk behaviours. The current study of 870 patients examined the intercorrelations of the CORE-OM item matrix, including the 28 non-risk items, and their correlations with the Risk domain items. Additionally, CORE-Assessment clinicians' risk ratings were compared with the patients' risk self-ratings. The results differed from the findings of Rowsell and Stennett-Cox and provided validatory evidence supplementing that of Whewell and Bonanno. The Harm to Self items appeared to be of particular behavioural significance.

The Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ): a cross-validation with a large clinical sample.

In a large sample of adult National Health Service (NHS) patients (initially n = 1296) referred for psychological therapy, the Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ) items were found to constitute a unidimensional scale according to maximum likelihood and principal component analyses, and by Cronbach's alpha criteria. The PSQ scores showed a significant small negative association with age, where higher scores indicate pathology; but no sex difference was found. Scores remain stable during time spent on the waiting list, but were reduced significantly following therapy of an equivalent length of time (median = 15 weeks). The intercorrelations between the three clusters of items (sub-concepts, as proposed by the test authors) comprising the full PSQ varied, but were all sizeable and highly statistically significant. Additional information to that of the test authors is provided on convergent and discriminant validity through its correlations with psychological tests and clinicians' ratings. Suggestions are made for the possible further improvement and refinement of the questionnaire.