Development and preliminary application of a new scale for assessing dysfunctional working models of self and others (DWM-S) in severely disturbed patients.
Although several suggestions have been made concerning the content and characteristics of cognitive/emotive schemata held by people with different disorders, there is still a scarcity of suitable instruments for verifying or measuring such constructs. This is particularly true of schemata postulated to be present in patients with personality disorders or a schizophrenic disorder. This article deals with the development of a new scale for assessing dysfunctional internal working models of self and others (DWM-S) in psychiatric patients. Preliminary results obtained in a sample of patients (n=110) and healthy subjects (n=40) suggest that the scale has a highly satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.97), and satisfactory test-retest reliability (rho coefficient=0.90 in healthy subjects and 0.86 in patients). Moreover, the DWM-S is able to discriminate between patients and healthy subjects and between patients suffering from various disorders. Further studies are in progress to assess the cross-national generalizability of the findings obtained so far.
Perris
C
C
Department of Psychiatry, Umeå University and WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Sweden.
Fowler
D
D
Skagerlind
I
I
Olsson
M
M
Thorsson
C
C
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception