Psychosocial Adjustment To Illness Scale Research Articles

Adjustment to illness and dropout of chemotherapy

The study compares the adjustment to illness of a group of 53 cancer patients who dropped out of chemotherapy with a matched group of 53 cancer patients who completed their treatment. The patients were treated in five oncological institutes in Israel. We found differences both in the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) and Brief Symptom Inventory Scale (BSI). In both scales we found significant differences indicating that the degree of adjustment and the psychosocial distress of patients who dropped out of treatment was worse than that of patients who completed treatment.

Persistent Depression in Coronary Bypass Patients Reporting Sexual Maladjustment

Four hundred ten patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery demonstrated a highly significant correlation between sexual-adjustment disturbance and postoperative depressive symptomatology. Patients were assessed preoperatively with the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), Zung SDS, and CES-D depression-rating scales; assessments were also made at three, six, and twelve months postoperatively. The PAIS served to examine psychosocial adjustment following bypass surgery. In particular, five of the six subscale items addressing sexual function were significantly correlated with persistent depressive symptoms. Sexual function problems were highly correlated with depression both pre- and postoperatively; of greater importance, preoperative sexual adjustment disturbances were predictive of depressive symptoms postoperatively on all assessment occasions. This study supports the need for an assiduous sexual history and psychiatric evaluation prior to surgery.

The psychosocial adjustment to illness scale (PAIS)

The current report introduces the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) and its self-report version the PAIS-SR. The PAIS is a multi-dimensional, semi-structured clinical interview designed to assess the psychological and social adjustment of medical patients, or members of their immediate families, to the patient's illness. The report reviews and discusses the concepts that form the foundation for the development of the PAIS. In terms of psychometric characteristics, both internal consistency and interrater reliabilities are presented and a series of predictive and convergent validity studies are reviewed. Six normative illness groups are described and discussed, and contributions to construct validity for the scale from factor analytic and other studies of internal structure are presented.

Life adaptation after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafting

Life adaptation of 32 patients who had undergone percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for coronary stenosis was compared with that of 15 patients who had coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Patients were matched for psychosocial, anatomic and cardiac functions. Life adaptation was measured at 6 and 15 months after PTCA or CABG by the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), a multidimensional instrument that evaluates change in 7 primary life domains. The overall PAIS scores for patients who had undergone PTCA were significantly better (p < 0.04) than the scores for those who had undergone CABG after 6 months, and this superior functioning continued after 15 months (p < 0.05). After 6 months patients who had undergone PTCA functioned better at work (p < 0.005), in sexual performance (p < 0.0001) and with their families (p < 0.002). The improvement in work functioning continued at 15 months (p < 0.04), but the differences in sexual and family domains became nonsignificant.

A new scale for assessing patients' psychosocial adjustment to medical illness.

The Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) was administered to 37 Hodgkin's disease patients and 38 parents of children with Hodgkin's disease or solid tumour, and the scores were analysed for inter-rater reliability as well as construct and criterion validity. A significant inter-rater reliability coefficient was obtained for the total scale score, and also for 6 of the 7 subscale scores. The 7 subscale scores were shown to be relatively independent of each other, with 5 contributing strongly to the total score. Subscales analysed for criterion validity were shown to correlate significantly with independent assessments of their domains of adjustment. Results indicate that the PAIS can be administered by a diverse group of interviewers with an acceptable degree of reliability and with initial confidence in its validity.