The accuracy of HADS in detecting emotional distress in male prisoners

Abstract

In forensic settings, it is impractical to expect psychiatrists or psychologists to carry out lengthy clinical interviews to detect emotional distress given the large number of prisoners. Self-report measures offer a better alternative for detecting emotional distress. With a sample of 400 newly incarcerated male prisoners, this study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the HADS Unitary Scale in detecting emotional distress as compared to the GHQ-12. The optimal threshold on the HADS Unitary Scale for detecting emotional distress was 15 with 88.9% sensitivity, 73.9% specificity, 83% positive predictive value and 17% misclassification rate. The HADS Unitary Scale was effective in identifying prisoners who were emotionally distressed. This may therefore be used as a screening measure in the male prison population.