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Assessment of self-reported negative affect in the NIH Toolbox
Paul A Pilkonis1, Seung W Choi, John M Salsman
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. pilkonispa@upmc.edu
Psychiatry Research
|October 23, 2012
Summary
The NIH Toolbox now includes self-report measures for negative affect like sadness, fear, and anger. This enhances emotional health assessment consistency across studies using flexible, precise tools.
Area of Science:
- Psychological assessment
- Health outcomes research
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Lack of consistency in measures across studies hinders research.
- The NIH Toolbox aims to standardize assessment tools for various health domains.
- Need for flexible, efficient, and precise measures, ideally using item response theory (IRT).
Purpose of the Study:
- To select self-report measures for the NIH Toolbox to assess the full range of negative affect.
- To identify measures suitable for a "core battery" of assessment tools.
- To enhance content coverage for emotional health assessment.
Main Methods:
- Utilized item banks from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) for emotional distress.
- Developed new scales for somatic arousal, hostility, and physical aggression.
- Calibrated measures using item response theory (IRT) models for potential adaptive testing.
Main Results:
- PROMIS emotional distress item banks are suitable for assessing negative affect in adults and children.
- New scales for somatic arousal, hostility, and physical aggression were developed and integrated.
- The selected measures provide comprehensive coverage of negative affect within the NIH Toolbox framework.
Conclusions:
- The NIH Toolbox successfully incorporated measures to assess a wide spectrum of negative affect.
- The use of PROMIS item banks and newly developed scales enhances the Toolbox's utility.
- These advancements contribute to more consistent and precise emotional health assessments in research.
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