Reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the South Oaks Gambling Screen in a Brazilian sample.
The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) in a sample of the Brazilian population. Participants in this study were drawn from three sources: 71 men and women from the general population interviewed at a metropolitan train station; 116 men and women encountered at a bingo venue; and 54 men and women undergoing treatment for gambling. The SOGS and a DSM-IV-based instrument were applied by trained researchers. The internal consistency of the SOGS was 0.75 according to the Cronbach's alpha model, and construct validity was good. A significant difference among groups was demonstrated by ANOVA (F₂.₂₃₈ = 221.3, P < 0.001). The SOGS items and DSM-IV symptoms were highly correlated (r = 0.854, P < 0.01). The SOGS also presented satisfactory psychometric properties: sensitivity (100), specificity (74.7), positive predictive rate (60.7), negative predictive rate (100) and misclassification rate (0.18). However, a cut-off score of eight improved classification accuracy and reduced the rate of false positives: sensitivity (95.4), specificity (89.8), positive predictive rate (78.5), negative predictive rate (98) and misclassification rate (0.09). Thus, the SOGS was found to be reliable and valid in the Brazilian population.
Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Av. Mello Moraes 1721, 05509-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil. mpm_fto@uol.com.br
Maria Paula Magalhães Tavares
MP
de Oliveira
Dartiu Xavier
DX
da Silveira
Simone Villas Boas
SV
de Carvalho
Silvia Teresa
ST
Collakis
Juliana
J
Bizeto
Maria Teresa Araujo
MT
Silva
D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001938:Brazil; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*