The concise measurement of clinical communication skills
- Objective: There is a lack of brief rating scales for the reliable assessment of psychotherapeutic skills, which do not require intensive rater training and/or a high level of expertise. Thus, the objective is to validate a 14-item version of the Clinical Communication Skills Scale (CCSS-S). Methods: Using a sample of N = 690 video-based ratings of role-plays with simulated patients, we calculated a confirmatory factor analysis and an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), assessed convergent validities, determined inter-rater reliabilities and compared these with those who were either psychology students, advanced psychotherapy trainees, or experts. Results: Correlations with other competence rating scales were high (rs > 0.86–0.89). The intraclass correlations ranged between moderate and good [ICC(2,2) = 0.65–0.80], with student raters yielding the lowest scores. The one-factor model only marginally replicated the data, but the internal consistencies were excellent (α = 0.91–95). The ESEM yielded a two-factorObjective: There is a lack of brief rating scales for the reliable assessment of psychotherapeutic skills, which do not require intensive rater training and/or a high level of expertise. Thus, the objective is to validate a 14-item version of the Clinical Communication Skills Scale (CCSS-S). Methods: Using a sample of N = 690 video-based ratings of role-plays with simulated patients, we calculated a confirmatory factor analysis and an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), assessed convergent validities, determined inter-rater reliabilities and compared these with those who were either psychology students, advanced psychotherapy trainees, or experts. Results: Correlations with other competence rating scales were high (rs > 0.86–0.89). The intraclass correlations ranged between moderate and good [ICC(2,2) = 0.65–0.80], with student raters yielding the lowest scores. The one-factor model only marginally replicated the data, but the internal consistencies were excellent (α = 0.91–95). The ESEM yielded a two-factor solution (Collaboration and Structuring and Exploration Skills). Conclusion: The CCSS-S is a brief and valid rating scale that reliably assesses basic communication skills, which is particularly useful for psychotherapy training using standardized role-plays. To ensure good inter-rater reliabilities, it is still advisable to employ raters with at least some clinical experience. Future studies should further investigate the one- or two-factor structure of the instrument.…
Author details: | Ulrike MaaßORCiDGND, Franziska KühneORCiDGND, Peter Eric HeinzeORCiDGND, Destina Sevde Ay-BrysonORCiD, Florian WeckORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.977324 |
ISSN: | 1664-0640 |
Title of parent work (English): | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
Subtitle (English): | Validation of a short scale |
Publisher: | Frontiers |
Place of publishing: | Lausanne, Schweiz |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2022/10/12 |
Publication year: | 2022 |
Release date: | 2023/03/08 |
Tag: | measurement; psychotherapy process; role-play; standardized patient; therapist competence; treatment integrity |
Volume: | 13 |
Number of pages: | 10 |
Funding institution: | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) |
Funding institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Funding number: | PA 2022_128 |
Funding number: | Projektnummer 491466077 |
Organizational units: | Extern / Extern |
Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften | |
DDC classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Grantor: | Publikationsfonds der Universität Potsdam |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Gold Open-Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe ; 820 |