MOTRICO MARTINEZ, EMMA, Moreno-Kuestner, Berta , de Dios Luna, Juan , Torres-Gonzalez, Francisco , King, Michael , Nazareth, Irwin , Monton-Franco, Carmen , Gilde Gomez-Barragan, Maria Josefa , Sanchez-Celaya, Marta , Angel Diaz-Barreiros, Miguel , Vicens, Catalina , Moreno-Peral, Patricia , Angel Bellon, Juan
No
J. Affect. Disord.
Article
Científica
3.705
1.925
25/09/2013
000324038000031
2-s2.0-84888374981
Background: The List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) questionnaire is frequently used to assess stressful events; however, studies of its psychometric properties are scarce. We examined the LTE's reliability, factorial structure, construct validity and explored the association between LTE scores and psychosocial variables and mental disorders. Method: This study involved interviewing 5442 primary care attendees from Spain. Associations between four different methods of quantifying LTE scores, psychosocial factors, major depression (CIDI), anxiety disorders (PRIME-MD), alcohol misuse and dependence (AUDIT) were measured. Results: The LTE showed high test-retest reliability (Kappa range=0.61-0.87) and low internal consistency (alpha=0.44). Tetrachoric factorial analysis yielded four factors (spousal and relational problems; employment and financial problems; personal problems; illness and bereavement in close persons). Logistic multilevel regression found a strong association between greater social support and a lower occurrence of stressful events (OR range=0.36-0.79). The association between religious spiritual beliefs and the LIE, was weaker. The association between mental disorders and LIE scores was greater for depression (OR range=1.64-2.57) than anxiety (OR range=1.35-1.97), though the highest ORs were obtained with alcohol dependence (OR range=2.86-4.80). The ordinal score (ordinal regression) was more sensitive to detect the strength of association with mental disorders. Limitations: We are unable to distinguish the direction of the association between stressful events, psychosocial factors and mental disorders, due to our cross-sectional design of the study. Conclusions: The LTE is a valid and reliable measure of stress in mental health, and the strength of association with mental disorders depends on the method of quantifying LTE scores. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
LTE questionnaire; Stress; Primary care; Mental health; Validity; Factor structure