Assessing movement quality in persons with severe mental illness - Reliability and validity of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality and Experience

Lena Hedlund, Amanda Lundvik Gyllensten, Tomas Waldegren, Lars Hansson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Motor disturbances and disturbed self-recognition are common features that affect mobility in persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and bipolar disorder. Physiotherapists in Scandinavia assess and treat movement difficulties in persons with severe mental illness. The Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality and Experience (BAS MQ-E) is a new and shortened version of the commonly used Body Awareness Scale-Health (BAS-H). The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-rater reliability and the concurrent validity of BAS MQ-E in persons with severe mental illness. The concurrent validity was examined by investigating the relationships between neurological soft signs, alexithymia, fatigue, anxiety, and mastery. Sixty-two persons with severe mental illness participated in the study. The results showed a satisfactory inter-rater reliability (n = 53) and a concurrent validity (n = 62) with neurological soft signs, especially cognitive and perceptual based signs. There was also a concurrent validity linked to physical fatigue and aspects of alexithymia. The scores of BAS MQ-E were in general higher for persons with schizophrenia compared to persons with other diagnoses within the schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder. The clinical implications are presented in the discussion.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)296-306
Number of pages11
JournalPhysiotherapy Theory and Practice
Volume32
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Apr 6

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Psychiatry

Free keywords

  • fatigue
  • motor disturbance
  • neurological soft sign
  • physiotherapy
  • schizophrenia

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