Assessment of Social Adjustment by Patient Self-Report

TLDR

Early case finding, outpatient care, and longitudinal studies of asymptomatic patients have highlighted the importance of community adjustment in psychiatric patients, prompting the use of inexpensive self‑report scales for routine assessment. The study derives and tests the Social Adjustment Scale Self‑Report to assess psychiatric patients' community adjustment. The scale evaluates role performance, interpersonal relationships, friction, feelings, satisfaction in work, and social/leisure activities with family, spouse, parent, and family unit. In 76 depressed outpatients, self‑report scores were comparable to relatives' reports and clinician interview ratings.

Abstract

Current emphasis on early case finding, outpatient care, and on longitudinal studies of asymptomatic patients has focused attention on the community adjustment of psychiatric patients. Thus, simple and inexpensive methods such as self-report scales, which allow the routine assessment of patient adjustment, are potentially useful. The derivation and testing of such a method, the Social Adjustment Scale Self-Report, is described. This scale covers the patient's role performance, interpersonal relationships, friction, feelings and satisfaction in work, and social and leisure activities with the extended family, as a spouse, parent, and member of a family unit. Self-report results based on 76 depressed outpatients were comparable to those obtained from relatives as well as by a rater who interviewed the patient directly.