Assessing emotional blunting in a psychiatric population: Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Oxford Depression Questionnaire

Abstract

Objectives: Emotional blunting is frequently reported among depressed patients treated with antidepressants. A validated measure of this phenomenon would be of great value to clinicians and researchers in order to augment treatment for depression. To date, there has been no such measure in Swedish. This study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Oxford Depression Questionnaire (ODQ-Swedish) in a psychiatric setting. Methods: Ninety psychiatric outpatients treated with antidepressants for depressive disorders were administered the ODQ-Swedish, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and a ‘gold standard question’. Thirty-nine participants completed a follow-up administration of the ODQ-Swedish. Results: Correlations between the depressive symptom anhedonia and the domains of the ODQ-Swedish followed the patterns found in previous studies when the previously validated ODQ-English confirming the validity of the ODQ-Swedish. The internal consistency and the test-retest reliability were also satisfactory. Sensitivity-to-change analysis indicated that the ODQ-Swedish could detect changes in emotional blunting, as quantified by the ‘gold standard question’. Furthermore, the completion rate (98%) suggested high acceptability. Conclusions: The fact that the ODQ is the only validated measure of emotional blunting for patients medicating with antidepressants is both a strength and a limitation. There is a need for measures that can monitor emotional changes. However, the lack of another measure also limits the assessment of contruct validity. Despite certain limitations, this study indicates that the Swedish translation has good psychometric properties and that the ODQ can be used as a self-report measure in a psychiatric population.

Keywords

• Emotional blunting
• Psychometric properties
• Depression
• Psychiatry
• Antidepressants