The development, validity, and reliability of the auditory vocal hallucination rating scale questionnaire (AVHRS-Q)

Laura A Steenhuis*, Gerdina H M Pijnenborg, Ellen Visser, Gerard van de Willige, Marije van Beilen, Maaike H Nauta, André Aleman, Agna A Bartels-Velthuis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

PURPOSE: The Auditory Vocal Hallucination Rating Scale Questionnaire (AVHRS-Q) is a short self-report measure assessing several characteristics of auditory vocal hallucinations (AVH) that was derived from a validated clinical interview (the auditory vocal hallucination rating scale; AVHRS). This study investigated the internal reliability, convergent validity, and divergent validity of the AVHRS-Q using two clinical samples.

METHODS: In sample I, 32 psychiatric patients with AVH were recruited from an academic hospital service and assessed with the AVHRS and the AVHRS-Q. Data for sample II were retrospectively retrieved from a pseudonymised Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) database collected in the context of mental healthcare at the same academic hospital service. Data from 82 psychiatric patients with AVH were retrieved, who completed the AVHRS-Q, and measures of psychological distress (the Outcome Questionnaire; OQ-45, and the Symptom Checklist; SCL-90) and quality of life (the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life; MANSA).

RESULTS: The AVHRS-Q showed good internal consistency in both samples. Severity scores of the AVHRS-Q were strongly correlated to the severity scores of the AVHRS (r = 0.90, p < 0.01). The AVHRS-Q and AVHRS did not differ in the identification of mild and severe voice-hearers [X2 (1, N = 32) = 15.71]. AVHRS-Q severity scores had moderate correlations with measures of psychological distress (OQ-45, r = 0.43, p < 0.01; SCL-90, r = 0.50, p < 0.05) and quality of life (MANSA, r = - 0.22, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: The AVHRS-Q demonstrated good reliability, convergent validity, and divergent validity, suggesting it can be applied in both clinical and research settings for a quick and reliable assessment of AVH.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)927-935
Number of pages9
JournalSocial Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Volume54
Issue number8
Early online date2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug-2019

Keywords

  • Questionnaire
  • Validation study
  • Hallucinations
  • Psychosis
  • VERBAL HALLUCINATIONS
  • CHILDHOOD
  • VOICES
  • PREVALENCE
  • DELUSIONS

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