The Post-Stroke Emotionalism Cognition Questionnaire (PECQ)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Post-Stroke Emotionalism Cognition Questionnaire (PECQ): A development, reliability and validity study
IRAS ID
189623
Contact name
Niamh McAleese
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 29 days
Research summary
Post-stroke emotionalism (PSE) is a neurological disorder that is characterized by sudden and uncontrollable episodes of laughter or crying. It can be congruent or in-congruent to a person's actual emotional state. Often the dramatic and uncontrollable nature of episodes can lead to distress and embarrassment (Moore et al., 1997). Studies suggest that those with PSE experience a reduced quality of life and social participation (Maruzairi & Koh, 2015). However the longer term impact of PSE is unclear and little is known about why clinical outcomes are so poor with this population. One hypothesis may be that patients develop negative cognitions about their PSE which cause them to withdraw socially to avoid stigma or embarrassment (Rosen, 2008).
Aims:
This study aims to develop a questionnaire that measures illness cognitions in patients with PSE. This could be used in clinical practice for the early detection of those with more negative cognitions about PSE with the aim of providing them with support to reduce their negativity.Stage 1:Questionnaire development
Six focus groups will be run with stroke patients who have PSE. Each group will be 60 minutes in duration with two groups per NHS Lothian Hospital. All focus group members will be asked to identify their thoughts and behaviours regarding PSE. In addition, the third group will also categorise these into domains. The information gathered will be used to construct potential questionnaire items that reflect importance as judged by feedback from participants. These will be refined by an expert panel to form the post-stroke emotionalism cognitions questionnaire (PECQ).Stage 2:Testing psychometric properties
To test it's reliability & validity, the PECQ will be posted to a separate sample of patients with PSE to be returned to a marked NHS Lothian Hospital. A mood and avoidance questionnaire will also be included and completion time will be approx. 45 minutes.REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
15/WS/0290
Date of REC Opinion
23 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion