Measuring common mental disorders in women in Ethiopia: Reliability and construct validity of the comprehensive psychopathological rating scale

BACKGROUND: There is a dearth of methodological studies critically evaluating reliability, validity and feasibility of measures of common mental disorders (CMD) in low-income countries. METHODS: Test-retest and inter-rater reliability of categorisation of CMD caseness, according to locally agreed criteria using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS), was measured in 99 women from out-patient clinics (inter-rater) and 99 women from a primary healthcare centre (test-retest) in Ethiopia. The construct validity of CMD as measured with CPRS was assessed with exploratory factor analysis using maximum likelihood with varimax rotation. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was fair (κ = 0.29). Subsequent assessment of inter-rater reliability found excellent agreement (κ = 0.82). The construct of CMD appeared unidimensional, combining depressive, anxiety and somatic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Detection of socioculturally meaningful cases of CMD in Ethiopia can be reliably achieved with local psychiatrist assessment using CPRS, although thorough training is essential.