Abstract
BackgroundThe Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) was developed for the clinical evaluation of functional impairment of patients suffering from bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to validate the Finnish version of FAST.MethodsTranslation and back-translation of FAST were performed. Fifty patients with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth edition (DSM-IV) bipolar type I and II were interviewed at the Bipolar Disorder Research and Treatment Centre, City of Helsinki, Finland. Participants completed the FAST, the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) of DSM-IV, and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) as part of the assessment. Internal consistency and correlations between FAST and SOFAS and SDS were analysed. Twenty-five patients participated in a reliability assessment carried out 1 week apart by a different rater.Results and discussionThe internal consistency coefficient obtained was very good, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.870. Reliability of FAST was also found excellent (correlation between two measures r = 0.896, p < 0.001). A highly significant negative correlation between FAST and SOFAS scores was found (r = −0.723, p < 0.001). FAST and SDS were also highly significantly correlated (r = 0.742, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe psychometric validity and reliability of FAST in the Finnish sample of patients with bipolar disorder types I and II were good.
Highlights
The Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) was developed for the clinical evaluation of functional impairment of patients suffering from bipolar disorder
The aim of this study was to validate the Finnish version of FAST in the assessment of functional impairment in subjects with bipolar disorder
All items of the FAST were answered by all patients
Summary
The Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) was developed for the clinical evaluation of functional impairment of patients suffering from bipolar disorder. Measures assessing functional impairment in bipolar disorder have varied widely across studies. (Ware et al 1994), the RAND-36 (Hays and Morales 2001) and the WHO-DAS (Guilera et al 2014) are used frequently. None of these scales was developed to assess specific areas of functional impairment in bipolar disorder. While there are advantages to using uniform measures across different mental disorders, such scales may lack sensitivity or precision in illness-specific impairments.
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