The 22-item scale used in field studies of mental illness: a question of method, a question of substance, and a question of theory.

The 22-item scale developed through the Midtown Manhattan Study is considered from methodological, substantive, and theoretical perspectives. This paper concludes that the instrument is, at best, a very incomplete measure of mental illness. A review of previous literature suggests a more reasonable interpretation is that it measures psychological stress and physical malaise, although even for these purposes it is a less than ideal measure. Use of the instrument examining the relationship between stressful life experiences and mental illness is further discouraged due to a conceptual confounding of the independent and dependent variables.

[1]  M. Opler,et al.  My name is legion , 1960 .

[2]  T. Langner.  A twenty-two item screening score of psychiatric symptoms indicating impairment. , 1962, Journal of health and human behavior.

[3]  P. Haberman.  The use of a psychological test for recall of past situations. , 1963, Journal of clinical psychology.

[4]  D. Leighton,et al.  The character of danger , 1963 .

[5]  August B. Hollingshead,et al.  Life Stress and Mental Health: The Midtown Manhattan Study. , 1964 .

[6]  J. G. Manis,et al.  Validating a Mental Health Scale , 1963 .

[7]  Thomas S. Langner,et al.  Life, Stress and Mental Health , 1963 .

[8]  J. G. Manis,et al.  Estimating the Prevalence of Mental Illness , 1964 .

[9]  P. Haberman,et al.  THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ALCOHOLISM IN AN URBAN RESIDENTIAL AREA. , 1965, Quarterly journal of studies on alcohol.

[10]  Deferred Gratification in a College Setting: Some Costs and Gains , 1966 .

[11]  B. Dohrenwend,et al.  Some relations among psychiatric symptoms, organic illness, and social class. , 1967, The American journal of psychiatry.

[12]  D. Phillips,et al.  Social Integration, Emotional Adjustment and Illness Behavior , 1967 .

[13]  Mental Health of Eastern Oklahoma Indians: An Exploration , 1968 .

[14]  Public image of mental health services , 1968 .

[15]  R. L. Meile,et al.  Social status, status incongruence and symptoms of stress. , 1969, Journal of health and social behavior.

[16]  Social Structure and Anomie: Social Isolation as ''Retreatism'' , 1970 .

[17]  B. Dohrenwend,et al.  Psychiatric symptoms in community, clinic, and mental hospital groups. , 1970, The American journal of psychiatry.

[18]  D. Phillips,et al.  Response biases in field studies of mental illness. , 1970, American sociological review.

[19]  B. Dohrenwend,et al.  Social Status and Psychological Disorder: A Causal Inquiry. , 1971 .

[20]  J. Harmatz,et al.  Langner's Psychiatric Impairment Scale: a short screening device. , 1971, The American journal of psychiatry.

[21]  Psychiatric symptoms; cross-validation with a rural sample , 1971 .

[22]  Comment on "Response Biases in Field Studies of Mental Illness" , 1971 .

[23]  B. Dohrenwend,et al.  Psychiatric disorders in general populations: a study of the problem of clinical judgment. , 1971, The American journal of psychiatry.

[24]  I. Siassi,et al.  WHAT GETS SURVEYED IN A PSYCHIATRIC SURVEY?: A Case Study of the MacMillan Index , 1972, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[25]  R. L. Meile,et al.  The relative effectiveness of two models for scoring the mid-town psychological disorder index , 1967, Community Mental Health Journal.