Confirming the validity of psychiatric indicator scales included in the Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic for bariatric surgery candidates |
Bariatric surgery; Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic; obesity; psychiatric indicator scales; psychometric characteristics; validity. |
Background: The use of applicable scale-type instruments is preferred when assessing candidates for bariatric surgery.
Objectives: This study provides evidence of the validity of the psychiatric indicator scales included in the Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic (MBMD) for bariatric surgery candidates with varying education levels and ages in Brazil.
Setting: Data collection was performed at a bariatric surgery outpatient clinic of a Brazilian public hospital and at the nursing wards of that same hospital, Methods: Five-hundred seventy-six patients aged between 18–70 years participated; 426 were candidates for a laparoscopic bariatric surgery procedure and 150 had metabolic syndrome and no indication for bariatric surgery. Results: An exploratory factor analysis, which had with satisfactory fit indices, revealed four factors corresponding to the main psychological characteristics of patients with obesity. The Anxiety–Tension, Depression, Cognitive Dysfunction, Emotional Lability, and Guardedness scales had acceptable internal consistency (all Cronbach’s alphas > 0.70). The sensitivity of the scales in evaluating various groups defined by how the participants were recruited—in person or through the nursing ward was also confirmed. Conclusions: The psychometric characteristics of the scales in the two collection groups were in accordance with prior literature. Future studies should determine the sensitivity and specificity of the scales and it if psychiatric indicators of the MBMD are useful for the pre-surgical assessment of candidates for bariatric surgery. The discussion about evidence of validity of evaluation instruments for this population is revealing to the extent that more accurate evaluations may favor more focused psychological interventions and that viability a better adherence to the treatment.