Studies of psychological distress in Sierra Leone have typically used measures which were developed for use in other contexts, and which often have not been adapted or validated for use in Sierra Leone. This has resulted in a lack of reliable information about the patterns of psychological distress within the population, which is a barrier to the development of effective and appropriate mental health services. The aim of the study was to develop a locally-appropriate measure of psychological distress for Sierra Leone. The new measure consists of two instruments: the Sierra Leone Psychological Distress Scale (SLPDS) and a gendered measure of ability to carry out daily tasks—a Function scale—as an indication of the severity of distress. A three-phase mixed methods exploratory sequential study was conducted. Phase 1 was item generation and testing, leading to the development of a set of potential items for both instruments. Phase 2 was a small pilot study (N = 202) leading to the selection of the final set of items for both measures. Phase 3 was a validation phase where the SLPDS and the Function scale were administered with a larger sample of 904 respondents. Item analysis was used to assess the internal consistency of the scales, and Exploratory Factor Analysis to explore the properties of the SLPDS. Exploratory factor analysis using the principal axis factoring with an oblique rotation identified a three-factor structure for the 18-item SLPDS. Internal consistency for the SLPDS (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and three subscales was good (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.73). The internal reliability of the male and female versions of the Function scale was also found to be acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90 for the female scale and 0.79 for the male scale). Together the SLPD and Function scales provide a locally-validated tool which will enable government bodies and local and international non-governmental organisations in Sierra Leone to assess mental health and psychosocial needs. This will support both effective service provision and the evaluation of initiatives designed to improve mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

中文翻译：

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在塞拉利昂制定适合情境的心理困扰衡量标准

塞拉利昂的心理困扰研究通常使用为在其他情况下使用而开发的措施，但这些措施通常没有经过调整或验证以在塞拉利昂使用。这导致缺乏关于人群中心理困扰模式的可靠信息，这是发展有效和适当的心理健康服务的障碍。该研究的目的是为塞拉利昂制定适合当地的心理困扰衡量标准。新的衡量标准包括两个工具：塞拉利昂心理困扰量表 (SLPDS) 和用于衡量执行日常任务的能力的性别量表——功能量表——作为压力严重程度的指标。进行了三阶段混合方法探索性顺序研究。第一阶段是项目生成和测试，导致为这两种文书开发一套潜在的项目。第 2 阶段是一项小型试点研究 (N = 202)，导致为这两项措施选择最终项目集。第 3 阶段是验证阶段，其中 SLPDS 和功能量表由 904 名受访者组成的更大样本进行管理。项目分析用于评估量表的内部一致性，并使用探索性因素分析来探索 SLPDS 的特性。使用倾斜旋转主轴分解的探索性因子分析确定了 18 项 SLPDS 的三因子结构。SLPDS（Cronbach's alpha = 0.89）和三个分量表的内部一致性很好（Cronbach's alpha > 0.73）。功能量表的男性和女性版本的内部可靠性也被发现是可以接受的（女性量表的 Cronbach's alpha = 0.90，男性量表的 0.79）。SLPD 和功能量表共同提供了一种经过当地验证的工具，使塞拉利昂的政府机构以及当地和国际非政府组织能够评估心理健康和社会心理需求。这将支持有效的服务提供和旨在改善心理健康和社会心理福祉的举措的评估。