Affiliations: Universität Leipzig, Abteilung für
Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie | Technische Universität Dresden, Medizinische
Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie am Zentrum für Seelische
Gesundheit | Institut für Rehabilitationsforschung, Ennepetal | Universität Leipzig, Abteilung für
Sozialmedizin
Note: [] Korrespondenzadresse: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hinz, Universität
Leipzig, Abteilung für Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische
Soziologie, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103 Leipzig. Tel.:
0341-9718820; E-mail: andreas.hinz@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
Abstract: Objectives: Temporal stability of clinical-psychological
questionnaires is problematic from a conceptual point of view, and it is
empirically insuffi-ciently examined. In this paper we analyze the temporal
stability of anxiety and depression, based on large samples. Methods: In three samples with N > 300 each (cancer patients, orthopaedic patients, and
general population) the stability of anxiety and depression was assessed with
the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: The stability
coefficients range from 0.60 to 0.75. They are highest in the sample of the
orthopaedic patients with a time interval of only three weeks between the
examinations. The temporal stability of anxiety and depression in females is as
high as that of males. Individual change scores of anxiety and depression are
correlated with about 0.50. Conclusions: The coefficients which are usually
adopted in the measurement of change are not suited to describe temporal
stability. Further research with sufficiently large samples is needed to
unravel the conditions which determine the stability.
