A Validity Study of a Psychiatric Screening Questionnaire (SRQ-20) in Primary Care in the city of Sao Paulo

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Abstract
A validity study of the Self-Report Questionnaire (20 item version, Hardinget al,1980) against the criterion of a standardised psychiatric interview (Goldberget al,1970) was carried out at three primary care clinics in Sao Paulo; 875 patients filled in the SRQ-20 questionnaires and a subsample of 260 was interviewed by the psychiatrist. The SRQ-20 was shown to be a feasible screening instrument for psycho-emotional disturbance in these settings. Sensitivity was 83% and specificity 80%, and the questionnaire was a good indicator of morbidity. A correlation was found between questionnaire total scores and independent clinical judgment (r= +0.70). A sex difference in the validity coefficients is described.