Evaluation of a Modified Self-Report Measure of Social Adjustment

Abstract

Summary: A self-report Social Adjustment Scale (SAS-M) for use in British populations was devised by modifying the original North American version, and its usefulness was evaluated among 331 women drawn from two local populations. In a group of mothers of one year old babies (n = 130), high levels of agreement were found between the subjects' self-ratings on the SAS-M and (i) a psychiatrist's ratings of their social adjustment made at interview; (ii) ratings of the subjects' social adjustment made by their husbands on the SAS-M; (iii) measures of concurrent mental state. In a group of women undergoing elective sterilization (n = 201), the SAS-M was found to be sensitive to changes in mental state over time. Possible applications of the SAS-M in psychiatric research, particularly when an interview is not feasible, are discussed.