Factor Structure of CIWA-Ar in Alcohol Withdrawal.

Objective. To identify the underlying factor structure of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, as measured with CIWA-Ar. Methods. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the items of CIWA-Ar. On 201 alcohol-dependent male patients seeking treatment for alcohol withdrawal at 36 hours of abstinence. Results. A three-factor solution was obtained that accounted for 68.74% of total variance. First factor had loading from four items (34.34% variance), second factor also had four items (24.25% variance), and the third had two items (10.04% variance). Conclusions. Factor analysis reveals the existence of multidimensionality of alcohol withdrawal as measured with CIWA-Ar and we found three factors that can be named as delirious, autonomic and nonspecific factors.

First rank symptoms and neurological soft signs in schizophrenia.

The aim of the study was to compare the neurological soft signs (NSS) in schizophrenia patients with and without first rank symptoms (FRS), their first degree relatives (FDR), and normal controls. The study was conducted on 60 schizophrenia patients diagnosed according to ICD 10 DCR and categorized into groups with and without FRS using Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, 30 FDRs of the study sample, and 30 normal controls matched for age, education, and handedness. All the subjects gave written informed consent. Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms were applied to have a comprehensive assessment of the symptoms. NSS were assessed using Extended Standard Neurological Assessment Instrument. The correlations between NSS and clinical symptoms were relatively modest but significant. There was a weak relation between NSS and positive symptom severity. The FDR of schizophrenia patients had significantly lower NSS scores than schizophrenia patients, but only FDR of schizophrenia patients without FRS had significantly higher scores than normal controls. Our results indicate that NSS are more prominent in schizophrenia patients with negative symptoms and support the theory of NSS being a trait marker of schizophrenia particularly in those without FRS.

Internal consistency and factor structure of 12-item general health questionnaire in visually impaired students.

BACKGROUND: As there are no instruments to measure psychological wellness or distress in visually impaired students, we studied internal consistency and factor structure of GHQ-12 in visually impaired children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Internal consistency analysis (Cronbach's alpha and item total correlation) and exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis) were carried out to identify factor structure of 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12). RESULTS: All items of GHQ-12 were significantly associated with each other and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.7. On analysis of principal component, three-factor solution was found that accounted for 47.92% of the total variance. The factors included, 'general well-being', 'depression' and 'cognitive', with Cronbach's alpha coefficients being 0.70, 0.59, and 0.34, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study findings suggest GHQ-12 is a reliable with adequate internal consistency scale and multidimensional factor structure in visually impaired students.