Validity of Applying Questionnaires for Screening Mental Disorder in a Population

Objective To get the rapid and efficient method for screening mental disorders. Methods The newly recruited soldiers enrolling for 3 months stationed at Guilin,some students in a university in Guilin,some citizens in a community and nearby areas in Guilin were studied. Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90),Connell Medicine Index (CMI),University Personality Inventory (UPI) and WHO deliration screening questionnaire were applied to test the subjects respectively. Then clinical interview and examination were performed on each case and clinical diagnosis for the mental disorder was made based on CCMD-3 standard. The validity of each questionnaire was evaluated by using criterion-related validity. Results For the mental disorder screening,the sensitivity and specificity of WHO deliration screening questionnaire were 100% and 94.26%,of SCL-90 were 44.90% and 85.89%,of CMI were 42.75% and 84.56%,of UPI were 90.59% and 43.66%. Conclusion WHO deliration screening questionnaire is the best in both sensitivities and specificities,but its manipulation is time-consuming and laborious,which limits its application and make it away from the best method to screen mental disorders in a population. SCL-90 and CMI are imperfect in sensitivities and more than a half patients will be missed,so they can hardly server as ascreening tool. UPI has high sensitivity and can screen out most of the patients with mental disorder. Additionally,UPI questionnaire contains fake-test item,which can be used to retest the unselected patients with mental disorder who answer the questionnaire untruly and halfheartedly. Especially,through 30 minutes of mental health propaganda,introduction of service contents and contact method,people with problem can initiatively inquire and missed screening can be avoided. UPI is a valuable screening tool to be recommended for mental disorder in a population.