Article

Considerable attention has been given to the identification of
depression in stroke survivors with aphasia, but there is more limited
information about other mood states. Visual analog scales are often used to
collect subjective information from people with aphasia. However, the validity of
these methods for communicating about mood has not been established in people
with moderately to severely impaired language.
The dual purposes of
this study were to characterize the relative endorsement of negative and positive
mood states in people with chronic aphasia after stroke and to examine congruent
validity for visual analog rating methods for people with a range of aphasia
severity. METHODS: Twenty-three left-hemisphere stroke survivors with aphasia
were asked to indicate their present mood by using two published visual analog
rating methods. The congruence between the methods was estimated through
correlation analysis, and scores for different moods were compared. RESULTS:
Endorsement was significantly stronger for "happy" than for mood states with
negative valence. At the same time, several participants displayed pronounced
negative mood compared to previously published norms for neurologically healthy
adults. Results from the two rating methods were moderately and positively
correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Positive mood is prominent in people with aphasia who
are in the chronic stage of recovery after stroke, but negative moods can also be
salient and individual presentations are diverse. Visual analog rating methods
are valid methods for discussing mood with people with aphasia; however, design
optimization should be explored.

Langue : ANGLAIS