Mental Health Screening in Prison: Psychometric Evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Among Incarcerated Men in Mexico.
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| Title: | Mental Health Screening in Prison: Psychometric Evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Among Incarcerated Men in Mexico. |
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| Authors: | Hinojosa-López, Josué-Edgardo1,2, Robles-García, Rebeca3, Rivera-Aragón, Sofía4, Chávez-Pedrote, Damaris2, Fresán, Ana5 a_fresan@yahoo.com.mx |
| Source: | Actas Espanolas de Psiquiatria. 2026, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p443-454. 12p. |
| Subjects: | Mental health screening, Psychometrics, Corrections (Criminal justice administration), Generalized anxiety disorder, Prison population, Mental depression, Anxiety |
| Geographic Terms: | Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico) |
| Abstract: | Background: Psychometric screening tools for persons in penitentiary centers (PPC) are key to assessing their mental health needs, given the shortage of both time and mental health personnel. Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health problems in PPC. Inadequate diagnosis can lead to increased symptom severity and even suicide. Therefore, validating instruments to assess depression and anxiety in PPC populations is essential to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis and its consequences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) in 272 men (>18 years old) deprived of liberty in a penitentiary center in Mexico. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. Concurrent and discriminant validity were assessed using the depression and anxiety scales of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11) Primary Health Care (PHC). Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were plotted to determine the best cut-off points in both instruments. Results: Both the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 showed items that were representative of their underlying constructs and supported the original one-factor structure, with satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices in both exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Both instruments exhibited good internal consistency in the sample of Mexican men incarcerated in penitentiary centers (α = 0.87 and α = 0.89, respectively). Furthermore, both scales showed strong correlations with the ICD-11 PHC depression and anxiety scales, along with adequate sensitivity, specificity, false positive, and false negative rates, resulting in a low misclassification rate. Conclusions: The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 can be used to briefly and reliably assess depression and anxiety among male PPC in Mexico City and in populations with similar institutional and sociodemographic conditions Given the specific characteristics of PPC populations across different countries, it remains necessary to continue testing these instruments in underrepresented populations to ensure the development of reliable and valid tools that help identify potentially confusing items and minimize diagnostic errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Actas Espanolas de Psiquiatria is the property of Maria Lopez-Ibor and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | MedicLatina |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: lth DbLabel: MedicLatina An: 194562704 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Mental Health Screening in Prison: Psychometric Evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Among Incarcerated Men in Mexico. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hinojosa-López%2C+Josué-Edgardo%22">Hinojosa-López, Josué-Edgardo</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Robles-García%2C+Rebeca%22">Robles-García, Rebeca</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rivera-Aragón%2C+Sofía%22">Rivera-Aragón, Sofía</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chávez-Pedrote%2C+Damaris%22">Chávez-Pedrote, Damaris</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fresán%2C+Ana%22">Fresán, Ana</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><i> a_fresan@yahoo.com.mx</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Actas+Espanolas+de+Psiquiatria%22">Actas Espanolas de Psiquiatria</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 54 Issue 2, p443-454. 12p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health+screening%22">Mental health screening</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychometrics%22">Psychometrics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corrections+%28Criminal+justice+administration%29%22">Corrections (Criminal justice administration)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Generalized+anxiety+disorder%22">Generalized anxiety disorder</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prison+population%22">Prison population</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+depression%22">Mental depression</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anxiety%22">Anxiety</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mexico%22">Mexico</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mexico+City+%28Mexico%29%22">Mexico City (Mexico)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Background: Psychometric screening tools for persons in penitentiary centers (PPC) are key to assessing their mental health needs, given the shortage of both time and mental health personnel. Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health problems in PPC. Inadequate diagnosis can lead to increased symptom severity and even suicide. Therefore, validating instruments to assess depression and anxiety in PPC populations is essential to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis and its consequences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) in 272 men (>18 years old) deprived of liberty in a penitentiary center in Mexico. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. Concurrent and discriminant validity were assessed using the depression and anxiety scales of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11) Primary Health Care (PHC). Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were plotted to determine the best cut-off points in both instruments. Results: Both the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 showed items that were representative of their underlying constructs and supported the original one-factor structure, with satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices in both exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Both instruments exhibited good internal consistency in the sample of Mexican men incarcerated in penitentiary centers (α = 0.87 and α = 0.89, respectively). Furthermore, both scales showed strong correlations with the ICD-11 PHC depression and anxiety scales, along with adequate sensitivity, specificity, false positive, and false negative rates, resulting in a low misclassification rate. Conclusions: The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 can be used to briefly and reliably assess depression and anxiety among male PPC in Mexico City and in populations with similar institutional and sociodemographic conditions Given the specific characteristics of PPC populations across different countries, it remains necessary to continue testing these instruments in underrepresented populations to ensure the development of reliable and valid tools that help identify potentially confusing items and minimize diagnostic errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Actas Espanolas de Psiquiatria is the property of Maria Lopez-Ibor and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=lth&AN=194562704 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.62641/aep.v54i2.2115 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 443 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Mental health screening Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychometrics Type: general – SubjectFull: Corrections (Criminal justice administration) Type: general – SubjectFull: Generalized anxiety disorder Type: general – SubjectFull: Prison population Type: general – SubjectFull: Mental depression Type: general – SubjectFull: Anxiety Type: general – SubjectFull: Mexico Type: general – SubjectFull: Mexico City (Mexico) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Mental Health Screening in Prison: Psychometric Evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 Among Incarcerated Men in Mexico. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hinojosa-López, Josué-Edgardo – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Robles-García, Rebeca – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rivera-Aragón, Sofía – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chávez-Pedrote, Damaris – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fresán, Ana IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: 2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 11399287 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 54 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Actas Espanolas de Psiquiatria Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
