Reliability, validity, and clinical utility of the social functioning exam in the assessment of stroke patients

Abstract

Social functioning is an important variable in the rehabilitation of stroke patients. A 28-item semi-structured interview to measure social functioning was designed. This instrument was used in 103 stroke patients being studied for the occurrence of mood disorders. The social functioning exam had high interrater and test-retest reliability and good agreement with social functioning as measured by other instruments or clinical assessment. The utility of the measurement of social functioning in the assessment of post-stroke mood disorders was demonstrated by the significant correlation between severity of depression and the degree of dysfunction in social functioning 6 mo. after the acute stroke, and by the significant difference in mean social functioning scores between nondepressed and depressed groups.