Discriminant validity of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire in Finnish 13-year-old adolescents

• Published in: Nordic journal of psychiatry 1999, Vol.53 (3), p.197-201
• Main Author: Eila Laukkanen, Sirkka Peiponen, Anneli Aivio, Heimo Viinamäki, Pirjo Halonen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0803-9488; 1502-4725
• DOI: 10.1080/080394899427205

The aim of the study was to examine the discriminant validity of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) in 13-year-old Finns. Two hundred and sixty-eight 13-year-old Finns completed the OSIQ in their classrooms. The adolescents were divided into three groups on the basis of raw scores: good development (20%), normal development (65%), and problematic development (15%). Adolescents from all three groups were chosen for interview as follows: 29 from the normal development group, 28 from the good development group, and 26 from the problematic development group. The interviews were conducted by two experienced psychiatrists specialized in adolescent psychiatry, unaware of the OSIQ scores. The psychiatrists' development assessment was then used as the gold standard. Development as assessed by the two psychiatrists and classification based on raw OSIQ scores correlated moderately well. The specificity of the OSIQ was 79%, and the sensitivity 71%, but the positive predictive value (PPV) was only 46%, and the negative predictive value (NPP) was 91%. Total OSIQ raw score and assessed development correlated well. The OSIQ differentiates well between adolescents with normal development and other adolescents, but among adolescents who have developmental problems the test is only allusive. The OSIQ can, therefore, be used as a screening method in research and clinical practice, but conclusions about adolescents' problematic development can be made only on the basis of clinical interview.