Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-7tdvq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-19T15:52:47.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Development of a Worry Questionnaire for Nursing Home Residents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Emerenciana A. Hertzsprung ,
Candace Konnert  and
Jaylene Brinker
Emerenciana A. Hertzsprung
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Candace Konnert*
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Jaylene Brinker
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Candace Konnert, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1N4. (konnert@ucalgary.ca)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper describes a new measure, the Worry Questionnaire for Nursing Home Residents (WQNHR), designed to assess the frequency of specific worries. It was administered to 67 residents. Psychometric evaluation showed an average item-to-total correlation of 0.20 (range = 0.15 to 0.58), an internal consistency estimate of 0.79, and a test-re-test reliability coefficient of 0.80. The WQNHR showed good convergent validity with other measures of worry obtained from residents, good discriminant validity with measures of health, but poor discriminant validity with self-ratings of depression. Psychometric results also indicated that the WQNHR performed better for residents with higher cognitive functioning. In addition, a collateral form (WQNHR-C) was administered to family or friends; however, it was not significantly correlated with the WQNHR. Overall, the WQNHR is a promising screening instrument for assessing worry in nursing home residents.

Résumé

Ce mémoire décrit un nouvel instrument de mesure, le Worry Questionnaire for Nursing Home Residents (WQNHR) (ou questionnaire des inquiétudes des pensionnaires d'établissements de soins infirmiers), qui sert à mesurer la fréquence de certains sujets d'inquiétude. Le questionnaire a été administré à 67 pensionnaires. L'évaluation psychométrique donne une corrélation item-score total moyenne de 0,20 (portée = 0,15 à 0,58), une cohérence interne estimative de 0,79, et un coefficient de fidélité au test-retest de 0,80. Le WQNHR a une bonne validité convergente avec d'autres mesures de l'inquiétude appliquées aux pensionnaires, une bonne validité discriminante avec les mesures de l'état de santé, mais une faible validité discriminante pour l'auto-évaluation de la dépression. Les résultats psychométriques indiquent aussi que le WQNHR donne de meilleurs résultats chez les pensionnaires ayant un fonctionnement cognitif supérieur. Un questionnaire annexe (WQNHR-C) avait également été administré aux familles ou amis des pensionnaires; mais la corrélation avec le WQNHR s'est avérée faible. Pour résumer, le WQNHR est un instrument de dépistage prometteur pour évaluer l'inquiétude des pensionnaires de maisons de soins infirmiers.

Keywords

agingworrynursing home residentsvieillissementinquiétudepensionnaires de soins infirmiers
Type
Research Note
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , Winter/Hiver 2004 , pp. 359 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beck, J.G., Stanley, M.A., & Zebb, B.A. (1995). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in older adults. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 1, 33–42.Google Scholar
Beck, J.G., Stanley, M.A., & Zebb, B.A. (1996). Characteristics of generalized anxiety disorder in older adults: A descriptive study. Behavior Research and Therapy, 34, 225–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benjamins, J. (2001). Anxiety, depression, and the content of worries. Depression and Anxiety, 14, 247–250.Google Scholar
Blankstein, K.R., & Segal, Z.V. (2001). Cognitive assessment. In Dobson, K.S. (Ed.), Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies (pp. 40–85). New York: Guildford Press.Google Scholar
Cappeliez, P. (1988). Daily worries and coping strategies: Implications for therapists. Clinical Gerontologist, 8, 70–72.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D.G. (1994). Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments in psychology. Psychological Assessment, 6, 284–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowhurst, B., & Konnert, C. (1996, October). Pre- and postnursing home relocation stress. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, Quebec City, QC.Google Scholar
Diefenbach, G.F., Stanley, M.A., & Beck, J.G. (2001). Worry content reported by older adults with and without generalized anxiety disorder. Aging and Mental Health, 5, 269–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doucet, C., Ladoucer, R., Freeston, M.H., & Dugas, M.J. (1998). Thémes d'inquiétudes et tendance à s'inquiéter chez les aînés. Canadian Journal on Aging, 17, 361–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folstein, M.F., Folstein, S.E., & McHugh, P.R. (1975). Mini-Mental State: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawes, C., Morris, J.N., Phillips, C.D., Mor, V., Fries, B.E., & Nonemaker, S. (1995). Reliability estimates for the Minimum Data Set for Nursing Home Resident Assessment and Care Screening (MDS). The Gerontologist, 35, 172–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jarvis, B., & Petty, R. (1996). The need to evaluate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 172–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddox, G.L., & Douglas, E.B. (1972). Self-assessment of health: A longitudinal study of elderly subjects. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 14, 87–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molina, S., & Borkovec, T.D. (1994). The Pennsylvania State Worry Questionnaire: Psychometric properties and associated characteristics. In Davey, G.C.L. & Tallis, F. (Eds.), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 265–283). New York: Oxford.Google Scholar
Morris, J.H., Hawes, C., Fires, B.E., Phillips, C.D., Mor, V., Katz, S., et al. (1990). Designing the national resident assessment instrument for nursing homes. The Gerontologist, 30, 293–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nitcher, R.L., Burke, W.J., Roccaforthe, W.H., & Wengel, S.P. (1993). A collateral source version of the Geriatric Depression Scale. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 1, 143–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okun, M.A., & Keith, V.M. (1998). Effects of positive and negative social exchanges with various sources on depressive symptoms in younger and older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 53, P4–P20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parmelee, P.A., Katz, I.R., & Lawton, M.P. (1992). Incidence of depression in long-term care settings. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 47, M189–M196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parmelee, P.A., Katz, I.R., & Lawton, M.P. (1993). Anxiety and its association with depression among institutionalized elderly. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 1, 46–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reischies, F.M., & Geiselmann, B. (1997). Age-related cognitive decline and vision impairment affecting the detection of dementia syndrome in old age. British Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 449–451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skarborn, M., & Nicki, R. (1996). Worry among Canadian seniors. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 43, 169–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skarborn, M., & Nicki, R. (2000). Worry in pre- and post-retirement persons. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 50, 61–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanley, M.A., & Novy, D.M. (2000). Cognitive-behavior therapy for generalized anxiety in late life: An evaluative overview. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 14, 191–207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tallis, F., Davey, G.C.L., & Bond, A. (1994). The Worry Domains Questionnaire. In Davey, G.C.L. & Tallis, F. (Eds.), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 285–297). New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Wells, A. (1994). A multi-dimensional measure of worry: Development and preliminary validation of the Anxious Thoughts Inventory. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 6, 289–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wisocki, P.A. (1988). Worry as a phenomenon relevant to the elderly. Behavior Therapy, 19, 369–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wisocki, P.A. (1993). The Worry Scale R. Unpublished manuscript, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.Google Scholar
Wisocki, P.A. (1994). The experience of worry among the elderly. In Davey, G.C.L. & Tallis, F. (Eds.), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 247–261). Chichester, UK: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Wisocki, P.A., Handen, B., & Morse, C.K. (1986). The Worry Scale as a measure of anxiety among homebound and community active elderly. The Behavior Therapist, 5, 91–95.Google Scholar
Yesavage, J.A., Brink, T.L., Rose, T.L., Lum, O., Huang, V., Adey, M., et al. (1983). Development and validation of a Geriatric Depression Scale. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 17, 37–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar