[Validation of EHD self questionnaire in multiple sclerosis]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Neurology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Mood disorders are prevalent in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and can be exacerbated by immunomodulatory therapies.
• The Emotional Health Dimensions (EHD) scale, originally a hetero-evaluation tool, assesses dimensions like 'blunted affect' and 'lack of emotional control'.
• A self-questionnaire version is needed for efficient patient self-assessment of these mood dimensions in MS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a self-questionnaire version of the EHD scale for assessing 'blunted affect' and 'lack of emotional control'.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, of the new EHD self-questionnaire in MS patients.

Main Methods:

• The EHD self-questionnaire was developed using items from the original hetero-evaluation scale, employing a 5-point Likert scale.
• Validation involved 77 Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients.
• Statistical analyses included Principal Component Analysis (ACP) with Varimax rotation, Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency, correlation analyses with STAXI and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and structural equation modeling.

Main Results:

• ACP revealed a two-factor structure: 'blunted affect' (7 items, 33.5% variance) and 'lack of emotional control' (4 items, 20% variance).
• The EHD self-questionnaire showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87) and good sub-scale reliabilities.
• External validity was confirmed by significant positive correlations with STAXI and BDI scores, and good test-retest reliability.

Conclusions:

• The validated EHD self-questionnaire effectively assesses 'blunted affect' and 'lack of emotional control' in MS patients.
• This tool can aid in monitoring emotional changes, potentially those induced by immunomodulatory treatments in MS.
• Future research could explore correlations with neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging in CNS disease patients.