Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Refugees: Insights from Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, and Network Analysis.

Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Refugees: Insights from Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, and Network Analysis. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2020 Aug 17;: Authors: Schlechter P, Wilkinson PO, Knausenberger J, Wanninger K, Kamp S, Morina N, Hellmann JH Abstract Screening tools developed for Western populations have produced heterogeneous prevalence estimates for depression and anxiety disorders among refugees. The use of these instruments assumes that psychopathological symptoms are manifested similarly across different cultural groups. Here, we scrutinized whether depressive and anxiety symptoms are manifested similarly between German residents and refugees in Germany. We tested measurement invariance, test information, and specifics of symptom interrelations in 200 refugees and 202 German residents with Classical Test Theory (CTT), Item Response Theory (IRT) and network analysis. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire regarding depressive and anxiety symptoms in either Arabic or German. Measurement invariance was only present to a certain extent. Questionnaires were most informative on different spectrums of the latent traits for the two groups. Network analysis demonstrated that symptom interrelations of depressive and anxiety symptoms differed across residents and refugees. This was especially true for core symptoms of common nosological systems, such as losing interest or feeling depressed. Surprisingly...
Source: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Clin Psychol Psychother Source Type: research