Impact of illness scale: Reliability, validity, and cross-cultural utility

doi:10.1053/comp.2001.26266

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Volume 42, Issue 5, September 2001, Pages 416-423

https://doi.org/10.1053/comp.2001.26266 Get rights and content

Abstract

We report on the development of a brief (nine-item) Impact of Illness Scale (IIS), which measures the degree that an illness is perceived to restrict psychosocial functioning. The measure is shown to have high internal consistency in a variety of samples. Its construct validity is indicated by correlations with other scales measuring general functioning in samples affected by illness. There is little variation in correlations between the IIS and other measures across a number of groups from different language and cultural backgrounds. This, together with the finding that items retain their psychometric properties when used to make general ratings of mental disorders, suggests that the content of the IIS is valid. The results suggest the IIS is a reliable and valid measure of psychosocial impact of illness that may be applicable in a wide range of sociocultural settings.

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The scale has good psychometric properties (Cronbach's alpha = 0.80). The impact of illness scale (Klimidis et al., 2001) was also used to measure impact of illness for FND and LTD groups. The 9-item scale is measured on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to (3) fully, giving potential scores of 0 (no impact) to 27 (strong impact).
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) results in altered motor, sensory and cognitive function in the absence of evident organic disease. It often co-occurs alongside dissociative disorders and dissociation has been found to be high in patients across FND subtypes (particularly in those with Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder; NEADs). However, the presence of dissociation in FND is varied and there are contradictory definitions and suggestions for elevated levels. Here, three studies show that dissociation is a prominent, defining feature of people with FND compared to those who are healthy or have other, similar long-term health conditions, and that this heightened dissociation is not explained by a history of trauma (study 1, N = 121), mood (study 2, N = 589) and is not associated with social isolation/social exclusion (study 3, N = 542). As dissociation appeared to occur in FND in the absence of the usual contributing factors, and as higher levels of dissociation were associated with increased disability and illness impacts, understanding its role is of fundamental importance to developing our understanding of FND. These findings have further applications, beyond the theoretical, in clinical settings and in research; the implications for further research are discussed.
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Items are rated on a “not at all satisfied” (1) to “extremely satisfied” (5) scale. The Impact of Illness Questionnaire (Klimidis et al., 2001) is used to assess the extent to which participants perceive that their sensory impairment affects their daily functioning over the past 3 months. Statements are rated on a scale from “not at all” (0) to “fully” (3).
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