Table 2.
Psychometric measurement instruments included in the Test Battery used in the study.
| Instrument | Description |
|---|---|
| Brief Neurocognitive Assessment (BNA) | The Brief Neurocognitive Assessment (BNA) was developed as a brief, easily applicable and reliable tool to evaluate global neurocognition and impairment, primarily in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (32) |
| Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) | The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) (33) is a self-administered questionnaire assessing psychological distress; it can be used either for screening or outcome evaluation |
| Clinical Global Impression (CGI) | The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale was initially introduced in psychopharmacological trials (34). It is a brief, easy-to-use, and pragmatic tool for the assessment of psychiatric illness severity and changes over time (35) |
| Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) | The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is widely used in psychiatric research. It is a single-item observer-rated scale of overall functioning on a continuum from mental health to mental illness (36) |
| Hamilton Anxiety Rating (HAM-A) | The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) comprises 14 items and provides an overall measure of anxiety, including psychological, cognitive, and somatic symptoms (35, 37). The scale can be used to measure anxiety in various psychiatric conditions (35) |
| Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) | The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) is a checklist of 21 items designed to measure the severity of depression (35, 38). Besides depression, it has also been used to measure depressive symptoms in other disorders (35) |
| Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) | The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) is an observer-rated scale to assess the severity of a psychiatric disorder in four dimensions: behavior, impairment, symptoms, and social problems (39, 40) |
| Insecurity Questionnaire (IQ-24) | The Insecurity Questionnaire [German: Unsicherheitsfragebogen] (IQ-24) is a self-administered questionnaire with 24 items developed to assess insecurity (41) |
| Mini ICF- APP (mICF) | The Mini ICF-APP (mICF) is a short observer-rated scale to assess the level of functioning and capacity. It is easy to use and possesses good psychometric properties (42, 43) |
| Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) | The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) (44) is a structured diagnostic interview. It was designed as a quick but accurate structured psychiatric diagnostic interview (according to DSM-IV and ICD-10) for clinical trials and epidemiology studies |
| Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) | The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (45, 46) is a brief cognitive screening tool to detect mild cognitive impairment in patients performing in the normal range on the Mini-Mental Status Exam |
| Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) | The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is a semistructured interview designed to measure the severity of psychopathology in patients with a psychotic disorder: mainly schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (35, 47). The PANSS measures symptoms in three domains: positive, negative, and general symptoms |
| Protocol for Sleep Examination (PSE) | The Protocol for Sleep Examination [German: Abend/Morgenprotokolle für die Schlafuntersuchung] (PSE) was developed to assess the subjective dimension of sleep, daily activities, and distress. It is divided into morning and night (bedtime) sections (48) |
| Short Stress Questionnaire (SSQ) | The Short Stress Questionnaire [German: Kurzfragebogen zur aktuellen Beanspruchung] (SSQ) was developed to assess subjective levels of tension or stress associated with a current task, situation, or experience (49) |
| Toronto Alexithymia Questionnaire (TAQ) | The Toronto Alexithymia Questionnaire (TAQ) (50, 51) was developed to assess difficulties identifying subjective emotional feelings, distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal and difficulty describing feelings to other people (51, 52) |
| Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) | The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was developed to measure the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms; these are rated in terms of time spent on such activities, interference with functioning, distress, resistance, and control (35, 53) |
| Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) | The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) is an observer-rated checklist, measuring manic symptoms to quantify the severity and the effect of treatment (35, 54). It includes the core symptoms of mania occurring in both mild and severe illness. |