Scale Analysis

The Index of Personal Economic Distress (IPED-8) was created in 2008 by a research team composed of Latsou and Geitona from the Department of Social and Educational Policy at the University of the Peloponnese.

Purpose of the Scale

The purpose of developing the Index of Personal Economic Distress was to investigate the effects of unemployment and financial hardship on the mental health of the population during times of crisis.

Question Scoring

The IPED-8 consists of a brief questionnaire with 8 questions. Responses are given on a 3-point Likert scale, where 1 = Rarely to 3 = Not at all. Participants are asked to respond based on the financial difficulties they may have experienced in meeting their household’s everyday financial demands over the past six months.

Statistical Analysis

The questionnaire generates a total score for the Index of Personal Economic Distress, ranging from 8 (no economic problems) to 24 (severe economic problems). Regarding its psychometric properties, a score of 15 was identified as the optimal cutoff point providing the best sensitivity and specificity. According to this threshold, participants scoring below 15 are considered to be experiencing low economic distress, whereas those scoring above are considered to be facing serious financial difficulties.

Validity and Reliability

The construct validity of the Index of Personal Economic Distress is considered good and reliable. Studies showed that the Cronbach’s alpha score was 0.93, indicating acceptable internal consistency.

References

Dimitra Latsou, Mary Geitona (2008)