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Relationship Between Physical Health Status and Responses to a Psychological Distress Measure*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Michel Préville ,
Louise Potvin ,
Richard Boyer  and
Bernard Boulerice
Michel Préville
Affiliation:
Université de Sherbrooke
Louise Potvin
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
Richard Boyer
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
Bernard Boulerice
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
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Abstract

Data from the Quebec Health Survey (QHS) were used to examine the influence of physical health status on responses to the somatic and affective-cognitive components ofthe QHS psychological distress inventory (PDI) in three age groups (n = 600): 18–39 years, 40–64 years and 65 years and over. A structural equation modelling strategy using LISKEL VIII was employed to test an explanatory model of the association between physical health and both components of the PDI. The model included sex, perceived life stress, social support, and marital status as covariates. Results showed that the affective-cognitive component of distress was the main explanatory factor in the somatic symptom index. Results also indicated that physical health directly affects responses to the somatic component of the PDI. However, the same effect of physical health on responses to somatic symptoms was found in all three age groups. Findings lead to the conclusion that using a psychological distress measure that includes somatic items, like the PDI, will result in a small overestimation of psychological distress in older adults and younger age groups as well. However, somatic items do not introduce a differential bias in the estimation of respondents' psychological distress status according to age.

Résumé

Les données de l'enquête Santé Québec (ESQ) ont été utilisées pour examiner l'influence du statut de santé physique sur les réponses données aux items d'ordre somatique et affective-cognitive de l'inventaire de détresse psychologique (IDP) de l'ESQ. LISREL VIII a été employé pour tester un modèle explicatif de l'association entre ces variables dans trois groupes d'âge (n = 600): 18–39 ans, 40–64 ans et 65 ans et plus. Le sexe, le niveau de stress percu, le soutien social et le statut marital ont été introduits dans le modèle comme variables contrôles. Nos résultats ont montré que la composante affective-cognitive de l'IDP était le principal facteur explicatif des réponses obtenues à la composante somatique de l'échelle. Nos résultats indiquent aussi que le statut de santé physique influence directement les réponses aux items somatiques de l'IDP. Cependant, l'effet observé était similaire dans les trois groupes d'âge étudiés. Les résultats de cette étude suggèrent que l'utilisation d'une mesure de détresse psychologique comprenant des items d'ordre somatique, tel que l'IDP, entraîne une petite surestimation de la détresse psychologique dans tous les groupes d'âge. Cependant, les items somatiques n'introduisent pas un biais différentiel dans l'évaluation de la détresse psychologique des répondants en fonction dé l'âge.

Keywords

Psychological DistressSomatizationValidityQuebec Health Survey.Détresse psychologiquesomatisationvaliditéenquête Santé Québec
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , Automne/Fall 2000 , pp. 363 - 379
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2000

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