[Structure and adequacy of the Beck Depression Inventory in patients with fibromyalgia]. / Estructura y adecuación del Inventario de Depresión de Beck en pacientes con fi bromialgia.

The Beck Depression inventory is a widely used instrument for the measurement of depression in chronic pain. However, there are no studies that analyze the structure and adequacy of the use of the BDI in these patients. In this work, we have carried out exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the results of the BDI in a sample of 300 patients with fibromyalgia. The factor structure of the exploratory BDI yields three factors that include cognitive, emotional and somatic symptoms. The structural equation analyses carried out to confirm the fit of the data in this sample with the models of chronic pain presented in the literature were not significant. These results indicate that there are differences between the depressive manifestations of this type of patients and those with chronic pain. In addition, the peculiar structure of the BDI in this sample of patients seems to indicate an overlap between some depressive symptoms and the symptoms of fibromyalgia, which could lead to an overestimation of the occurrence of depression when measured with the BDI, a bias that should be assessed and modified.

Desarrollo de una batería de evaluación psicorisiológica en el ámbito clínico / Development of a practical exploratory battery for psychophysiological assessment

El creciente desarrollo de la psicofisiología exige metodologías cada vez más asequibles para su utilización en el ámbito clínico. Este trabajo presenta la elaboración de una batería de evaluación psicofisiológica exploratoria (el Perfil de Estrés) adaptada a las características del quehacer clínico, que permite la evaluación del componente psicofisiológico de una forma relativamente sencilla. La utilización del análisis factorial para el análisis de los registros posibilita la obtención de perfiles o patrones psicofisiológicos basados en la covariación entre respuestas psicofisiológicas pertenecientes a diversos sistemas. Los factores identificados muestran patrones de activación relevantes, que ofrecen una visión global del funcionamiento psicofisiológico de la muestra evaluada, y pueden considerarse datos normativos de la población de referencia (AU)

As the expanding field of psychophysiology is currently demanding applied methodologies to be used in the clinic, this study aimed to develop a practical multi-channel exploratory battery for psychophysiological evaluation of stress (the Stress Profile-SP). The SP records six psychophysiological variables and it is designed to be mainly used in the daily clinic. Furthermore, the SP is a quick and easy-to-use instrument that has shown adequate internal consistency. Factorial analysis has been applied to obtain psychophysiological profiles based on the covariation among different systems responses. The identified factorial structure shows relevant activation patterns, offering a comprehensive view of the sample functioning. The structure is consistent through samples and can be considered as normative data for the studied population. The Stress Profile can be considered as a method to obtain normative and individual psychophysiological patterns, providing relevant information for the therapeutic process (AU)

Development of a multi-channel exploratory battery for psychophysiological assessment: the Stress Profile.

OBJECTIVE: As the expanding field of psychophysiology is currently demanding applied methodologies to be used in the clinic, this study aimed to develop a practical multi-channel exploratory battery for psychophysiological evaluation of stress (the Psychophysiological Stress Profile; PSP). The PSP records 6 psychophysiological variables and it is designed to be mainly used in the daily clinic. Moreover, the PSP was intended to be 'the method' to obtain normative and individual psychophysiological patterns, providing relevant information for the therapeutic process. METHODS: Two hundred and three subjects were evaluated with the PSP in two different contexts: the natural environment and the laboratory. Factorial analysis was applied to obtain psychophysiological profiles. These profiles are based on the covariation among different system responses. The Burt and Tucker Congruence Coefficient was used to compare factorial structures. RESULTS: A 3-factor structure was obtained in both contexts, Congruence Coefficient indicates that these factorial structures are very similar, indicating the existence of a unique and consistent psychophysiological pattern that characterizes the sample. CONCLUSIONS: The identified factorial structure shows relevant activation patterns, offering a comprehensive view of the subject's functioning. The structure is consistent through samples and can be considered as normative data for the studied population. PSP has turned out to be a quick and easy-to-use psychophysiological battery that has shown adequate internal consistency for all the recorded variables. In this way, the PSP methodology shows its practical value and usefulness in the assessment process.