Measuring Human Problems

This book is intended to act as a practical guide for all members of caring professions who wish to assess the problems of their patients and clients in a systematic and up-to-date way. In addition to a simple listing of the relevant questionnaires, consideration of the merits and demerits of rating scales as used for particular problems and other methods of measurement, there is also an attempt to clarify diagnostic, definitional and other conceptual issues in relation to the problem area covered by each chapter. It is intended that each chapter can be read alone, but some acquaintance with the material in chapter one is recommended. All the authors are firmly of the view that problems are multi-faceted and that a range of measures from subjective to biological should be employed. Various levels of measurement may tap different facets or components of a problem and to use only one level would lead to false conclusions of little improvement, or to unsupportable claims of general effectiveness. Authors have placed different emphases in their chapters, both with regard to content and their particular approach and philosophy regarding the issue of measurement.
Measurement of problems have several functions, mainly to help in diagnosis, to predict response to treatment and to monitor change. For research, measurement is essential. A familiarity with instruments of measurement in a particular area invariably leads to enhanced understanding of the clinical nuances of the particular disorder. The emphasis in this book is on monitoring change. However, as will be apparent in several of the chapters, many of the measurement devices are used for more than one function and distinctions between diagnostic and change monitoring functions of the measure are often arbitrary.