Short Interview to Assess Stages of Recovery
The Short Interview to assess Stages of Recovery (SIST-R: Wolstencroft et al., 2010) is a brief interview-based measure that identifies an individuals’ stage of recovery from mental illness. Our motivation for developing the SIST-R was twofold: We wanted to develop a recovery measure that would (i) be feasible and acceptable for clinicians to use in various service settings, and (ii) facilitate collaborative discussion between consumer and clinician, therefore allowing the possibility to explore ‘something more’ in terms of understanding the process of recovery. The SISTR encompasses the elements of feasibility espoused by Slade, Thornicroft and Glover (1999). Consequently, the SIST-R is brief, easy to use, adopts language that is relevant, and seen as a valuable tool in supporting consumers and practitioners within recovery-oriented services.
The interview schedule consists of five questions. Each question is read out to the respondent who is then asked to make a choice between two options, A or B in each question. If the respondent chooses option A then his or her stage is identified at that point. If option B is chosen then the respondent proceeds to the next question with options A or B. To illustrate, consider the first question from the interview schedule: A) Do you find it difficult to feel hopeful about your future or in control of what is happening to you?
OR
B) Do you think that there are things that you could possibly do, or will be doing in the future, that will help you to recover and take you beyond how you feel today? Choosing option A would suggest the respondent is in the Moratorium stage of recovery, while choosing B would suggest the respondent may be in the Awareness stage of recovery. The interview continues through the questions until the respondent chooses option A. If the respondent arrives at question 5, he or she will finish by choosing option A, which will indicate the stage of Growth.
A description of the development of the SIST-R is provided by Wolstencroft et al (2010). We report some preliminary psychometric findings for the SIST-R, although some caution is needed in interpreting these findings given they are based on a sample of 18 consumers (Wolstencroft et al., 2010). Initially, the concordance in the stage of recovery as identified by the SIST-R and the Stages of Recovery Instrument (STORI – see the next section for a description; Andresen, Caputi and Oades, 2006) was assessed. We found substantial concordance between the two measures, thus providing preliminary evidence for the validity of the SIST-R as a measure of recovery (Wolstencroft et al., 2010).
We also examined the construct validity of the SIST-R. Participants’ scores on the Kessler-10 and the subscales of the RAS were correlated with those of the SIST-R (Wolstencroft et al., 2010). Low to moderate correlations were observed between the RAS subscales and the SIST-R.Asmall negative correlation was observed between the Kessler-10 and the SIST-R. However, given the small sample size there is a need for further research to examine whether these relationships are present in a larger sample .
The Short Interview to assess Stages of Recovery (SIST-R: Wolstencroft et al., 2010) is a brief interview-based measure that identifies an individuals’ stage of recovery from mental illness. Our motivation for developing the SIST-R was twofold: We wanted to develop a recovery measure that would (i) be feasible and acceptable for clinicians to use in various service settings, and (ii) facilitate collaborative discussion between consumer and clinician, therefore allowing the possibility to explore ‘something more’ in terms of understanding the process of recovery. The SISTR encompasses the elements of feasibility espoused by Slade, Thornicroft and Glover (1999). Consequently, the SIST-R is brief, easy to use, adopts language that is relevant, and seen as a valuable tool in supporting consumers and practitioners within recovery-oriented services.
The interview schedule consists of five questions. Each question is read out to the respondent who is then asked to make a choice between two options, A or B in each question. If the respondent chooses option A then his or her stage is identified at that point. If option B is chosen then the respondent proceeds to the next question with options A or B. To illustrate, consider the first question from the interview schedule: A) Do you find it difficult to feel hopeful about your future or in control of what is happening to you?
OR
B) Do you think that there are things that you could possibly do, or will be doing in the future, that will help you to recover and take you beyond how you feel today? Choosing option A would suggest the respondent is in the Moratorium stage of recovery, while choosing B would suggest the respondent may be in the Awareness stage of recovery. The interview continues through the questions until the respondent chooses option A. If the respondent arrives at question 5, he or she will finish by choosing option A, which will indicate the stage of Growth.
A description of the development of the SIST-R is provided by Wolstencroft et al (2010). We report some preliminary psychometric findings for the SIST-R, although some caution is needed in interpreting these findings given they are based on a sample of 18 consumers (Wolstencroft et al., 2010). Initially, the concordance in the stage of recovery as identified by the SIST-R and the Stages of Recovery Instrument (STORI – see the next section for a description; Andresen, Caputi and Oades, 2006) was assessed. We found substantial concordance between the two measures, thus providing preliminary evidence for the validity of the SIST-R as a measure of recovery (Wolstencroft et al., 2010).
We also examined the construct validity of the SIST-R. Participants’ scores on the Kessler-10 and the subscales of the RAS were correlated with those of the SIST-R (Wolstencroft et al., 2010). Low to moderate correlations were observed between the RAS subscales and the SIST-R.Asmall negative correlation was observed between the Kessler-10 and the SIST-R. However, given the small sample size there is a need for further research to examine whether these relationships are present in a larger sample .
