The Persian Checklist of Pleasant Events (PCPE): Development, Validity and Reliability
Abstract
Objective: Experiencing pleasant events during daily life has a significant positive role in the personal mental health and acts as a keystone for “behavioral activation” (BA) interventions. There are serious differences in the pleasant event schedules in different cultures and countries. We aimed to develop a Persian checklist of pleasant events (PCPE) to provide and validate a culturally compatible checklist for Iranians.
Methods: To develop a checklist of pleasant events, inspired by Pleasant Events Schedule (PES) (MacPhillamy & Lewinsohn, 1982), we held three focused group discussions with 24 normal healthy participants from both genders (female = 12) and asked them to mention as much pleasant events as possible. When the list reached saturation level, the inappropriate items with respect to legal, cultural and religious concerns were omitted. The final checklist of PCPE consists of two subscales: Frequency (frequency of events during last month) and pleasantness (perceived pleasantness of events). The total score consists of frequency multiplied by pleasantness. To test the reliability and validity of the checklist, the PCPE, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), the Persian version of WHO Quality of Life and the Demographic Questionnaire were administered in a sample of 104 participants (50 male and 54 female).
Results: Frequency, pleasantness and the total scores of PCPE showed high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha, .976, .976 & .974, respectively). Further support for the convergent validity of the PCPE was obtained via moderate negative correlations with depression, anxiety, stress scores in DASS and positive correlation with quality of life as well as respondent’s perceived happiness. There were negative correlations between frequency, pleasantness and total scores and age of the participants (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = -.194, p<0.05; r = -.270, p<0.01 & r = -.234, p<0.05, respectively).
Conclusion: PCPE as an assessment tool has shown to have good reliability and validity among Iranians. Further steps should be taken to validate this instrument in different psychopathologies such as depression, addiction and obesity.
Cuijpers P, van Straten A, Warmerdam L. Behavioral activation treatments of depression: a meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review 2007; 27: 318-326.
Ekers D, Richards D, Gilbody S. A meta-analysis of randomized trials of behavioural treatment of depression. Psychological medicine 2008; 38: 611-623.
Mazzucchelli T, Kane R, Rees C. Behavioral activation treatments for depression in adults: a meta‐analysis and review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 2009; 16: 383-411.
Chartier IS, Provencher MD. Behavioural activation for depression: Efficacy, effectiveness and dissemination. Journal of affective disorders 2013; 145: 292-299.
Kanter JW, Santiago-Rivera AL, Rusch LC, Busch AM, West P. Initial outcomes of a culturally adapted behavioral activation for Latinas diagnosed with depression at a community clinic. Behavior modification 2010; 34: 120-144.
Zeiss AM, Lewinsohn PM, Munoz RF. Nonspecific improvement effects in depression using interpersonal skills training, pleasant activity schedules, or cognitive training. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 1979; 47: 427-439.
McFall RM. Effects of self-monitoring on normal smoking behavior. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 1970; 35: 135-142.
Latner JD, Wilson GT. Self-monitoring and the assessment of binge eating. Behavior Therapy 2002; 33: 465-477.
Frederiksen LW. Treatment of ruminative thinking by self-monitoring. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 1975; 6: 258-259.
Hiebert B, Fox E. Reactive effects of self-monitoring anxiety. Journal of Counseling Psychology 1981; 28: 187.
Rapee RM, Craske MG, Barlow DH. Subject-described features of panic attacks using self-monitoring. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 1990; 4: 171-181.
Harmon TM, Nelson RO, Hayes SC. Self-monitoring of mood versus activity by depressed clients. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 1980; 48: 30-38.
O'Hara MW, Rehm LP. Self-monitoring, activity levels, and mood in the development and maintenance of depression. Journal of abnormal psychology 1979; 88: 450-453.
Reaven JA, Peterson L. The effects of self-monitoring on activity level and mood in elderly nursing home residents. Clinical Gerontologist: The Journal of Aging and Mental Health 1983.
Fuchs CZ, Rehm LP. A self-control behavior therapy program for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1977; 45: 206.
Gallagher DE, Thompson LW. Treatment of major depressive disorder in older adult outpatients with brief psychotherapies. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice 1982; 19: 482.
Lewinsohn P, Biglan A, Zeiss A. Behavioral treatment for depression. In: Davidson P, ed. by. Behavioral management of anxiety, depression and pain. 1st Ed. New York: Brunner/Mazel; 1976.
MacPhillamy DJ, Lewinsohn PM. The pleasant events schedule: Studies on reliability, validity, and scale intercorrelation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1982; 50: 363-380.
Beck J. Cognitive behavior therapy. New York: Guilford Press; 2011.
Watson D, Tharp R. Self-directed behavior: Self-modification for personal adjustment. City: Cengage Learning; 2013.
Leahy RL, Holland SJ, McGinn LK. Treatment plans and interventions for depression and anxiety disorders. City: Guilford press; 2011.
Finan PH, Garland EL. The role of positive affect in pain and its treatment. The Clinical journal of pain 2015; 31: 177-187.
Lovibond PF, Lovibond SH. The structure of negative emotional states: comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour research and therapy 1995; 33: 335-343.
Yousefy AR, Ghassemi GR, Sarrafzadegan N, Mallik S, Baghaei AM, Rabiei K. Psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF in an Iranian adult sample. Community mental health journal 2010; 46: 139-147.
Waltz C, Bausell R. Nursing research. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.; 1981.
Grosscup SJ, Lewinsohn PM. Unpleasant and pleasant events, and mood. Journal of Clinical Psychology 1980; 36: 252-259.
Whisman MA, Johnson DP, Rhee SH. A Behavior Genetic Analysis of Pleasant Events, Depressive Symptoms, and Their Covariation. Clinical psychological science: a journal of the Association for Psychological Science 2014; 2: 535-544.
Armento ME, Hopko DR. The Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS): development, validity, and reliability. Behavior therapy 2007; 38: 107-119.
Zautra AJ, Reich JW. Positive events and quality of life. Evaluation and program planning 1981; 4: 355-361.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 10 No 4 (2015) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Behavioral Activation Iran Pleasant Events Pleasant Events Schedule Reliability Validity | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
