Screening young adult cancer survivors for distress with the Distress Thermometer: Comparisons with a structured clinical diagnostic interview.
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ABSTRACT: The validity of the Distress Thermometer (DT) as a screen for psychological distress in young adult cancer survivors was assessed by comparing it with the results of a psychiatric diagnostic interview, the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) (SCID), to evaluate the accuracy of the DT and identify optimal cutoff scores for this population.A total of 247 survivors aged 18 to 40 years completed the DT and SCID. Based on the SCID, participants were classified as having: 1)???1 SCID diagnoses; 2) significant symptoms, but no SCID diagnosis; or 3) no significant SCID symptoms. Receiver operating characteristic analyses determined the sensitivity and specificity of all possible DT cutoff scores for detecting survivors with a SCID diagnosis, and subsequently for survivors with significant SCID symptoms or a SCID diagnosis.The recommended DT cutoff score of ?5 failed to identify 31.81% of survivors with a SCID diagnosis (sensitivity of 68.18% and specificity of 78.33%), and 32.81% of survivors with either significant SCID symptoms or a SCID diagnosis. No alternative DT cutoff score met the criteria for acceptable sensitivity (?85%) and specificity (?75%).The DT does not reliably identify young adult cancer survivors with psychiatric problems identified by a "gold standard" structured psychiatric interview. Therefore, the DT should not be used as a stand-alone psychological screen in this population. Cancer 2016;122:296-303. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
SUBMITTER: Recklitis CJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4707976 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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