Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire Research Articles

An Evaluation of the Reliability and Validity of the Functional Assessment Inventory

The reliability of the Functional Assessment Inventory (FAI) was evaluated using a sample of VA domiciliary and nursing home patients. The interobserver and interrater reliability coefficients of the summary rating scales, based on a single assessment, tended to be higher than their test-retest reliability coefficients, based on two independent assessments separated by a modal four-week interval. Validity coefficients, using the OARS instrument ratings as criteria, also based on two independent assessments several weeks apart, were, on the average, as high as the test-retest reliability coefficients. More specifically, the mental health, physical health, and activities of daily living rating scales, along with the objectively scored Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire and Short Psychiatric Evaluation Schedule, tended to yield relatively similar scores with repeated measurement, while the social resources and economic resources scales were somewhat less stable, a discrepancy possibly explained by the homogeneous nature of the social and economic status of most of the patients (institutionalized veterans). Thus the reliability and validity of the FAI are satisfactory, but the stability of some of its scales requires further investigation.

Validity Study of the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire for the Elderly*

ABSTRACT: The short, portable mental status questionnaire (SPMSQ) developed by Pfeiffer has several advantages over previous short instruments designed to assess the intellectual functioning of older adults. It is based upon data from both institutionalized and community‐dwelling elderly. Although Pfeiffer outlined a four‐group classification, he used two groups in his initial validation study: (a) intact/mildly impaired, and (b) moderately/severely impaired. The present study compared clinicians' ratings with those based upon the SPMSQ scores, and examined the validity of the four‐group classification. The sample included 181 subjects from seven intermediate care facilities and nine home‐care agencies. All were assessed by the OARS questionnaire, which includes the SPSMQ. Three discriminant analyses were performed with three different criteria, for two‐group, three‐group, and four‐group models. Results indicated that the two‐group model (intact/mildly impaired and moderately/ severely impaired) permitted significant discrimination. The four‐group model, however, gave less distinct results. In particular, patients who were mildly intellectually impaired could not be clearly distinguished from those who were intact and from those who were moderately impaired. The three‐group model (minimally, moderately, severely impaired) seemed to offer the best compromise between the gross dichotomy of the original two‐model system and the less accurate four‐category system.

A short portable mental status questionnaire for the assessment of organic brain deficit in elderly patients.

Clinicians whose practice includes elderly patients need a short, reliable instrument to detect the presence of intellectual impairment and to determine the degree. A 10-item Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), easily administered by any clinician in the office or in a hospital, has been designed, tested, standardized and validated. The standardization and validation procedure included administering the test to 997 elderly persons residing in the community, to 141 elderly persons referred for psychiatric and other health and social problems to a multipurpose clinic, and to 102 elderly persons living in institutions such as nursing homes, homes for the aged, or state mental hospitals. It was found that educational level and race had to be taken into account in scoring individual performance. On the basis of the large community population, standards of performance were established for: 1) intact mental functioning, 2) borderline or mild organic impairment, 3) definite but moderate organic impairment, and 4) severe organic impairment. In the 141 clinic patients, the SPMSQ scores were correlated with the clinical diagnoses. There was a high level of agreement between the clinical diagnosis of organic brain syndrome and the SPMSQ scores that indicated moderate or severe organic impairment.