Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36621871›Full record

ArticleBrain and behavior2023

The preliminary development and psychometric properties of the Psychotherapy Side Effects Scale.

Chen Fazhan, Liu Liang, Zhao Xudong, Feng Qiang, Ge Congcong, Zhao Yunhan

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Brain and behavior, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Iatrogenic Harm, Psychotherapy, and Eating Disorders: An Urgent Call to Action.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Chen FazhanClinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-3963-1868
Liu LiangClinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Zhao XudongClinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Feng QiangDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Ge CongcongClinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Zhao YunhanClinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Chinese-German Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Tongji University · CNShanghai East Hospital · CN

Funding

Medical discipline Construction Project of Pudong Health Committee of Shanghai PWYgy2021-02National Key Research and Development Program of China 2021ZD0202000Special Clinical Research Project of Shanghai Municipality Health Commission 202040475Training Plan of Health System Academic Leader of Shanghai Pudong Municipality Health Commission PWRd2019-08
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSide effects in psychotherapy are common and have a negative impact on patients or clients. However, effective evaluation tools are still lacking and have not been fully studied. The present study aims to develop a scale with good reliability and validity to measure the side effects of psychotherapy.

methodsThe 25 items in the Psychotherapy Side Effects Scale (PSES) were condensed and distributed to 420 subjects online to test its psychometric properties.

resultsThe internal consistency of the PSES was satisfactory to excellent (Cronbach's ɑ coefficient was .95, and the Guttman split-half coefficient was 0.88). A statistically significant negative correlation between the satisfaction score and the total score of the PSES was shown (r = -0.51, p < .001). The PSES could effectively discriminate between two groups with and without side effects (F = 250.95, p < .001) and was able to predict the occurrence of side effects in psychotherapy with an area under curve of 0.932 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.900-0.964 (p < .001). A cutoff was set at 36 points in total PSES score, from which the maximum Youden's index (= 0.72) could be obtained. The positive rate of the PSES was 24% (101/420).

conclusionThe PSES showed good internal consistency, content validity, concurrent validity, discriminant validity and predictive validity in evaluating and identifying side effects in psychotherapy. More advanced reliability testing methods and structural validity testing for PESE need to be practiced in the future to better serve clinical practice.

Indexed as

PsychotherapyHumansPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and Questionnairespsychometric propertiespsychotherapypsychotherapy side effects scaleside effects

Identifiers

PMID36621871
PMCPMC9927831
OpenAlexW4317358672

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.