endorsement

Endorsement

Definition: In clinical and research contexts, *endorsement* refers to the affirmative response or agreement with a specific item, symptom, belief, or statement, particularly in standardized assessments or self-report questionnaires.

In psychometric evaluations, endorsement typically indicates that a patient or participant:

  • Confirms the presence of a symptom (e.g., “I feel sad most of the time” – endorsed as “true”).
  • Agrees with a statement or belief (e.g., “I worry excessively”).
  • Selects a response above a threshold (e.g., Likert scale rating ≥ 4/5).

The endorsement rate of an item can be used to assess:

  • Item difficulty or severity
  • Prevalence of a symptom
  • Construct validity in scale development

Endorsement is critical for:

  • Diagnostic formulation – consistent endorsement of criteria in DSM/ICD tools
  • Treatment planning – tracking which domains are most impaired
  • Outcome monitoring – change in endorsement over time may indicate improvement or deterioration
  • In the Beck Depression Inventory, endorsement of items like “I feel hopeless about the future” contributes to the total depression score.
  • In structured interviews (e.g., SCID), endorsement of core criteria supports a specific diagnosis.
  • Response bias – social desirability, malingering, or denial may affect endorsement.
  • Cultural factors – interpretation and endorsement of certain items may vary cross-culturally.
  • Cognitive impairment – can reduce the accuracy of endorsement in neuropsychiatric populations.
  • endorsement.txt
  • Last modified: 2025/07/10 13:37
  • by administrador