Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T01:43:15.062Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do mental health surveys disturb?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

A. S. Henderson  and
A. F. Jorm
A. S. Henderson*
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
A. F. Jorm
Affiliation:
NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor A. S. Henderson, NH & MRC Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Camberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

We have tested the assumption that mental health surveys do not cause distress. At the end of a two-wave community survey of psychiatric symptoms and personality factors, respondents were asked specific questions about how the interviews affected them. Being interviewed was distressing for some individuals, but it was seen as beneficial by a larger number. Those reporting distress were more likely to have had neurotic symptoms prior to both interviews and to have personality characteristics which would indicate proneness to distress. Whether the distress lasted beyond the interview situation is unknown. These results suggest that surveys of mental health should tell intended respondents about the possible effects of the interview, both positive and negative. Some studies should try to estimate the duration of any distress reported to have been induced.

Type
Brief Communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , August 1990 , pp. 721 - 724
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bedford, A., Foulds, G. A. & Sheffield, B. F. (1976). A new personal disturbance scale (DSSI/sAD). British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 15, 387–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bromet, E. J., Dunn, L. O., Connell, M. M., Dew, M. A. & Schulberg, H. C. (1986). Long-term reliability of diagnosing lifetime major depression in a community sample. Archives of General Psychiatry 43, 435–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowne, D. P. & Marlowe, D. (1964). The Approval Motive: Studies in Evaluative Dependance. Wiley: New York.Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J. & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1964). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. London University Press: London.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P. (1972). The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire. Maudsley Monographs No. 21. Oxford University Press: London.Google Scholar
Headey, B. W. & Wearing, A. J. (1981). Australians' priorities, satisfactions and well-being. Monographs in Public Policy Studies No. 4 Department of Welfare Service, University of Melbourne, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Headey, B. W., Holmstrom, E. & Wearing, A. (1984). Well-being and ill-being: different dimensions? Social Indicators Research 14, 115–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, A. S. (1988). An Introduction to Social Psychiatry. Oxford University Press: Oxford.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. S., Byrne, D. G. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1981). Neurosis and the Social Environment. Academic Press: Sydney.Google Scholar
Jorm, A. F., Duncan-Jones, P. & Scott, R. (1989). An analysis of the re-test artefact in longitudinal studies of psychiatric symptoms and personality. Psychological Medicine 19, 487–493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackinnon, A. J., Henderson, A. S., Scott, R. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1989). The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI): an epidemiological study in a general population sample. Psychological Medicine 19, 1023–1034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robins, L. N., Helzer, J. E., Croughan, J. & Ratcliff, K. (1981). National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule: its history, characteristics, and validity. Archives of General Psychiatry 38, 381–388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singer, E. (1978). The effect of informed consent procedures on respondents' reactions to surveys. Journal of Consumer Research 5, 49–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turnbull, J. E., McLeod, J. D., Callahan, J. M. & Kessler, R. C. (1988). Who should ask? Ethical interviewing in psychiatric epidemiology studies. American Journal of Orlhopsychiatry 58, 228–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed