title: The effect of symptom visibility on informant reporting.
abstract: Informant reporting is important in the assessment of depression and anxiety among individuals with cognitive impairment. The authors examined the influence of the visibility effect on the ease of rating depression and anxiety symptoms. Fifty-three family members of dementia patients and 65 staff members working with cognitively impaired adults judged the ratability of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms item pool. Results indicated that Appetite Loss, Lassitude, and Insomnia scales were easiest to rate; Suicidality and Traumatic Intrusions scales were most difficult to rate. Findings support the visibility effect and emphasize the importance of selecting easy to rate items for informants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. liz-mcdade@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: McDade-Montez
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: O'Hara
authors.forename: Natalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Denburg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results