Evaluation of a questionnaire measuring psycho-social burdens of patients with colostomy

A german questionnaire measuring psycho-social burdens of patients with colostomy (Fragebogen zu Belastungssituationen bei Colostoma) consisting of 24 items was evaluated in an multi-center-study with 139 subjects from 6 hospitals. Data analysis showed high reliability-coefficients (Cronbach's alpha = .92, split-half reliability =.89, retest-reliability = .89) and good selectivity-indices between .32 and .70. Test-scores correlated with anxiety measured by State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory STAI (r = .65) and depression measured by Beck's Depression Inventory BDI (r = .63). The kind of stoma supply (irrigation vs. conventional) had no significant influence on test-scores, while test-score decreased with increasing age. The questionnaire is sensitive to change and its able to evaluate therapeutic effects.