Validity of two psychological screening measures in family practice: Personal Inventory and Family APGAR

To determine the level of accuracy with which the Personal Inventory and Family APGAR identify patients with psychological distress, the two instruments were administered to patients new to a family practice clinic. Eighteen months later, the following clinical variables were recorded by chart audit: number of physician visits, number of chronic and acute illnesses or conditions diagnosed, and presence of psychological symptoms. A high frequency of psychological symptoms was observed in the clinical sample; depression, anxiety, marital problems, and chemical dependency were most frequently seen. Statistically significant differences were observed between the mean scores for symptomatic and nonsymptomatic patients on both the Personal Inventory and Family APGAR. Cutting scores established for each instrument allowed for the accurate classification of 83 percent of symptomatic patients by the Personal Inventory and 68 percent of symptomatic patients by the Family APGAR. Substantial gains in screening accuracy occurred when both measures were administered and when a "symptomatic" score on either instrument was considered suggestive of psychological distress. Although individuals with "symptomatic" scores attended the clinic more frequently than those nonsymptomatic by test, differences were not statistically significant. The results support the use of the Personal Inventory and the adjunctive use of the Family APGAR.