Measuring common mental disorders in women in Ethiopia: reliability and construct validity of the comprehensive psychopathological rating scale

Charlotte Hanlon*, Girmay Medhin, Atalay Alem, Mesfin Araya, Abdulreshid Abdulahi, Markos Tesfaye, Dawit Wondimagegn, Hassan Taha, Birke Anbesse, Yonas Baheretibeb, Michael Dewey, Martin Prince

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

BACKGROUND: There is a dearth of methodological studies critically evaluating reliability, validity and feasibility of measures of common mental disorders (CMD) in low-income countries.METHODS: Test-retest and inter-rater reliability of categorisation of CMD caseness, according to locally agreed criteria using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS), was measured in 99 women from out-patient clinics (inter-rater) and 99 women from a primary healthcare centre (test-retest) in Ethiopia. The construct validity of CMD as measured with CPRS was assessed with exploratory factor analysis using maximum likelihood with varimax rotation.RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was fair (kappa = 0.29). Subsequent assessment of inter-rater reliability found excellent agreement (kappa = 0.82). The construct of CMD appeared unidimensional, combining depressive, anxiety and somatic symptoms.CONCLUSIONS: Detection of socioculturally meaningful cases of CMD in Ethiopia can be reliably achieved with local psychiatrist assessment using CPRS, although thorough training is essential.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)653-659
Number of pages7
JournalSocial Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Volume43
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Apr 2008

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Ethiopia
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Women's Health
  • Young Adult

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