Psychosomatics 40:470-478, December 1999
© 1999 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medine
Health Attitude Survey
A Scale for Assessing Somatizing Patients
Russell Noyes, Jr., M.D.,
Douglas R. Langbehn, M.D., Ph.D.,
Rachel L. Happel, B.S.N.,
Lori R. Sieren, B.S.N., and
Barbara A. Muller, M.D.
Received January 2, 1999; revised March 22, 1999; accepted June 14, 1999. From the Departments of Psychiatry, Preventative Medicine and Environmental Health, and Internal Medicine, University of Iowa College of Medicine; and from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Noyes, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Psychiatry Research, MEB, Iowa City, IA 52242–1000.
The authors designed an instrument, the Health Attitude Survey, to assess somatization, and administered it to over 1,000 patients attending a general medicine clinic. Within this population, a series of somatizing patients and control patients were identified for purposes of developing and testing the instrument. The 27-item scale was rapidly administered and acceptable to the patients. Based on comparisons with other measures of somatization, the instrument appeared to be a valid measure of the attitudes and perceptions of somatizing patients, and it distinguished these patients from the control subjects. The measure showed acceptable predictive value and may prove useful in clinical settings, where rapid screening is desired.
Key Words: Health Attitude Survey • Somatization • Diagnostic Tools
Get information about faster international access.
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 1999
Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine.
All rights reserved.
Home
| Search
| Current Issue
| Past Issues
| Subscribe
| All APPI Journals
| Help
| Contact Us
|
