Tests and scales measuring psychological disorders should provide information about how scores relate to other constructs such as quality of life or functional impairment. Such information is necessary to allow that their scores contribute to clinical decision making. The current study analyzes the clinical utility of the Spanish version of the Inventory for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II) to discriminate between different levels of functional impairment and identify the IDAS-II scales that contribute most to explaining impairment. The total sample (N = 1390) consists of two subsamples: a community sample of the general population (n = 1072) selected by random sampling; and a sample of patients (n = 318) from public and private mental health services. The Spanish IDAS-II for measuring internalizing symptoms and WHODAS 2.0 for measuring impairment were administered to all participants. All scales show statistically significant higher scores in the patient sample, with Cohen's d effect sizes values greater than 0.30, except for well-being (d = 0.19). The cutoff values and their confidence intervals do not overlap with the means of either the community or patient sample. AUC values for most of the scales are above .70, except for appetite gain, ordering, euphoria, cleaning, and well-being. Multiple linear regression model using IDAS-II scales explain 57.1% of the variance of the WHODAS 2.0 (F_12.1377 = 155.305; p < .001). Cutoff values provided allow us to reliably differentiate between the patients and community samples. Spanish IDAS-II scores show greater sensitivity and specificity in detecting those with greater impairment. General Depression, Lassitude, Panic and Claustrophobia contribute to impairment in a greater extent. Knowledge of which symptoms are most related with impairment, allows healthcare providers to improve treatment planning based on empirical evidence.

Background: Personality disorders show strong comorbidities with alcohol-use disorder (AUD), and several personality traits have been found to be more frequent in people with AUD. This study analyzes which personality facets of those proposed in the Alternative Model of Personality Disorder (AMPD) of DSM-5 are associated with the diagnostic criteria of AUD. Methods: The sample was composed of 742 participants randomly selected from the Spanish population, and 243 patients attending mental health services. All participants were of legal age and signed an informed consent form. The instruments were administered to the community sample in an online format, and a psychologist conducted individual face-to-face interviews with the patients. AMPD facets were assessed through the Personality Inventory of DSM-5 Short-Form, and the AUD criteria through the Substance Dependence Severity Scale. A network analysis was applied to identify the personality facets mostly associated with the AUD criteria. Results: The network analysis showed the existence of three communities, grouping the AUD criteria, externalizing spectrum facets, and internalizing spectrum facets, respectively. Risk taking, callousness, and irresponsibility facets showed the strongest association with the AUD criteria, bridging externalizing personality traits with AUD criteria. Conclusions: The facets of risk taking, callousness, and irresponsibility should be accurately assessed in patients with AUD to differentiate between a possible primary personality disorder and a syndrome induced by alcohol addiction.

Mental disorders represent a major global public health concern, affecting ∼970 million individuals worldwide (GBD Mental Disorders Collaborators, 2022). Among the most prevalent conditions are anx...

In recent decades, the conceptualization of internalizing problems has changed from categorical to dimensional and hybrid approaches. However, most studies have analyzed the structure of internalizing problems at the disorder level using categorical or dimensional approaches, with only a few studies examining the structure at the symptom level, or considering a hybrid approach. This study aimed to compare categorical (latent class analysis), dimensional (confirmatory factor analysis), and hybrid models (semi-parametric factor analysis) of internalizing constructs at the symptom level regarding model fit (structural validity) and prediction (concurrent validity) in four samples: community adults (n = 1072; n = 620), students (n = 378), and patients (n = 485). All participants completed the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II to assess internalizing symptoms. In two samples, participants completed additional measures to test concurrent validity regarding disability, externalizing symptoms, personality traits, impairments in personality functioning, and quality of life. Dimensional models, particularly those allowing for non-normal distributions, outperformed categorical and hybrid models in terms of structural and concurrent validity (median _adjR² for dimensional models =.18-.16). Our results suggest that future studies should prefer dimensional models to better describe internalizing constructs and predict external variables. The consistent application of dimensional models of internalizing pathology would facilitate the integration of empirical findings in clinical science and enable a more valid and fine-grained assessment of individual mental health problems in clinical practice, thereby enhancing the potential to guide effective personalized interventions.

The Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II) addresses current clinical demands by providing individual scores for depressive, anxiety, and bipolar symptoms consistent with transdiagnostic approaches and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology. The general aim was to expand the clinical utility of the IDAS-II to assess changes in internalizing symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and disability. Participants included 1,072 community adults (50% women) and 289 patients (74% women) who completed the IDAS-II. Patients also completed the Short Form-36 Health Survey and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule to evaluate QoL and disability, respectively. First, the sensitivity of the IDAS-II scores to treatment impact was assessed through statistical significance and reliable changes based on the internal consistency of the IDAS-II. Second, the relationship between changes in IDAS-II scores and changes in QoL and disability was analyzed using weighted Cohen's κ and Spearman correlations. Third, an anchor-based longitudinal method determined the minimal clinically important difference in QoL and disability for the IDAS-II scales (i.e., the smallest difference in IDAS-II scores perceived as beneficial for QoL and disability). Reliable change index values and cutoff c were provided to identify reliable improvement, deterioration, no change, and clinically significant change for each symptom. Changes in general depression and dysphoria were most strongly associated with changes in QoL and disability. The minimal clinically important difference values for the IDAS-II provide insights into perceived QoL and disability improvement without requiring additional measures. Tracking symptom changes and their implications for QoL and disability is useful in guiding evidence-based decisions in clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives: This research simulates an adaptive version of the IDAS‐II (IDAS‐CAT).Methods: 2021 participants from both community (n = 1692) and patients (n = 329) samples completed the IDAS‐II. Item response theory metric properties of the IDAS‐II full test and the 20‐items of the general depression (GD) scale were obtained. The efficiency and accuracy of different computerized adaptive algorithms were simulated. Different subsamples completed additional external measures in order to gather evidence of validity of the scores estimated with the simulated adaptive algorithms selected.Results: Both unidimensional computerized adaptive testing algorithm selected for the GD scale and the bifactor model chosen for the full test, allow 70% reduction in the length of administration, maintaining a measurement error below 0.30 on the general and 0.50 on the specific factors. Results show high correlations of the scores estimated with the adaptive algorithms and the estimates based on the full test, as well as correlations with external criteria almost equal to those generated with the full test.Conclusions: IDAS‐CAT could be a reliable and fast tool for measuring internalizing spectrum.