The clinical utility of the ICD-11 may be improved by making its structure more compatible with the common conceptual organization of mental disorders observed across diverse global clinicians.
The structure and reliability of the Brazilian version of the PANAS are consistent with those of its original version. Taken together, these results attest the validity of the Brazilian adaptation of the instrument.
Objectives: To evaluate how personality traits are associated with occasional use, abuse, and dependence of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and hallucinogens in a large availability sample of adults via online questionnaires. Methods: The sample consisted of 8,646 individuals (24.7% men and 75.3% women) who completed an anonymous web survey. Involvement with drugs and temperament/character traits were assessed through the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and the Temperament and Character Inventory -Revised (TCI-R), respectively. Interactions among variables were analyzed using MANOVA with Bonferroni adjustment. Results: Novelty seeking was the trait most associated with increased involvement with alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine. There was a significant association between harm avoidance and benzodiazepine use. Persistence was lower in cannabis-, benzodiazepine-, and cocaine-dependent subjects, as well as in hallucinogen abusers. Self-directedness was reduced in dependents of all drug classes. No strong relationships were found between other temperament or character dimensions and the severity of drug use. Conclusions: Novelty seeking was associated with increased involvement with all drugs studied in this sample, although to a lesser extent with benzodiazepines and hallucinogens. The temperament and character profile for benzodiazepine use was different from that of other drugs due to the relationship with higher harm avoidance and self-transcendence and lower self-directedness.
Objective: Investigate the structural coherency of the 60-item version of the General Health Questionnaire via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Method: The study design is a cross-sectional survey. A random sample of 146 individuals from the city of Divinópolis-MG volunteered to participate in the present study and responded to the 60-item version of the General Health Questionnaire adapted and validated for use in Brazil. Statistics consisted of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha method. Results: Alpha coefficients for all five content scales of the General Health Questionnaire were high (α > 0.8). For four of the five scales, a unifactorial model of constituent items provided a good fit to the data. Items comprising the fifth scale, Psychic Stress, exhibited a two-correlated factor structure. A factor analysis of scores for the five scales yielded strong evidence of coherency, with all scales loading substantially on a single common factor. Conclusion: The General Health Questionnaire shows good psychometric coherency as evidenced by high internal consistency and unidimensionality of all but one of its constituent scales, and uniformly high loadings of all scales on a single overarching factor. These results are consistent with prior findings from the General Health Questionnaire developmental study and Brazilian adaptation studies.
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