Personal Feelings Inventory (PFI)

Abstract

The Personal Feelings Inventory (PFI) is a 66-item psychological assessment tool designed to quantify the presence and severity of symptoms related to two major clinical domains: depression and anxiety. Utilizing a simple True/False response format, the PFI aims to capture subjective distress, somatic complaints, cognitive difficulties, and behavioral avoidance patterns associated with these emotional states. Its development is closely tied to foundational work in psychometrics and mental health status evaluation, particularly in large-scale population surveys conducted by researchers such as Zubin and Fleiss in the 1960s and 1970s.

Keywords

Personal Feelings Inventory, PFI, Depression, Anxiety, Affective disorders, Psychological screening, True/False scale, Psychopathology, Zubin, Fleiss.

Authors

Joseph Zubin, Joseph L. Fleiss, Anthony F. Fazio.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Personal Feelings Inventory (PFI) is to serve as an efficient screening instrument for identifying individuals experiencing significant emotional distress, specifically symptoms characteristic of clinical depression and generalized anxiety. It is particularly useful in large-scale studies and epidemiological research where quick, quantifiable measurement of psychopathology is required.

The scale was integrated into broader assessment tools, such as the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) General Well-Being Schedule, to provide concurrent validation data on specific symptom clusters underlying subjective well-being measures.

Construct

The PFI measures two distinct, yet frequently co-occurring, psychological constructs: Depressive Symptomatology and Anxiety Symptomatology. These constructs are operationalized through 66 items that capture subjective experiences across cognitive, affective, and somatic domains.

The Depression Subscale focuses heavily on indicators such as lack of interest (anhedonia), difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, slowed thought and movement (psychomotor retardation), and suicidal ideation. The Anxiety Subscale focuses on indicators of physiological arousal (trembling, sweating, heart pounding), general unease, and specific behavioral avoidance (agoraphobic and claustrophobic tendencies, social avoidance).

Validity

Information regarding the Validity of the PFI is often derived from its inclusion in larger studies, such as the concurrent validational study of the NCHS General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) conducted by Fazio (1977). This research established the scale’s ability to measure the intended constructs by correlating PFI scores with external criteria.

Specifically, the PFI subscales demonstrated strong concurrent validity when compared with more extensive measures of psychopathology and impairment, such as the Psychiatric Status Schedule (PSS). High scores on both the depression and anxiety subscales were found to correlate positively and significantly with clinical indicators of emotional disturbance and functional impairment observed in structured interviews.

Reliability

Specific internal reliability coefficients (such as Cronbach’s Alpha) or test-retest data for the PFI were not explicitly detailed in the provided foundational materials. However, given the rigorous psychometrics standards applied to related instruments developed by Zubin, Fleiss, and Spitzer (e.g., the PSS), it is assumed that the PFI possesses adequate internal consistency for a screening tool designed for population surveys.

The clear separation of items into Depression and Anxiety subscales suggests that the items within each cluster are designed to be highly homogenous, contributing to acceptable internal consistency for differential diagnosis screening.

Factor Analysis

The PFI exhibits a clear two-factor structure, distinguishing between Depression and Anxiety symptoms. This structure is supported by the item allocation across the two defined subscales, suggesting that the items load cleanly onto their respective intended factors.

The research context provided by Zubin and Fleiss (1970), focusing on biometric approaches to depression and taxonomy in mental disorders, indicates that the development of the PFI likely involved sophisticated statistical techniques, including factor analysis, to ensure the dimensional separation of these major affective disorders for assessment purposes.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory; screening instrument for psychopathology.

Format: 66 items utilizing a dichotomous True/False response scale.

Language Available: English (original).

Population Group: General adult population and clinical samples.

Age Group: Adults (typically 18 years and older).

Population Details: Widely employed in epidemiological studies, notably within the framework of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) health surveys.

Test Methodology: Simple self-administration with scoring based on the number of endorsed symptoms within the two defined subscales (Anxiety and Depression).

Keywords

Psychological assessment, Symptom checklist, NCHS, General Well-Being Schedule, Somatic complaints, Affective symptoms, Concurrent validity, Screening tool.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not available in source documentation).

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not available in source documentation).

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not available in source documentation).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and utilized extensively around 1970–1977, coinciding with major research efforts by Zubin, Fleiss, and the NCHS. Given its appearance in public domain documents from the National Center for Health Statistics, the PFI is often considered freely available for non-commercial research and educational use. The original PDF validation study can be downloaded here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_073.pdf.

Reference’s

• Fazio, Anthony F. (1977). A Concurrent Validational Study of the NCHS General Well-Being Schedule. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 2, 73:1-53.

• Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J., Fleiss, J. L., and Cohen, J. (1970). Psychiatric Status Schedule: A technique for evaluating psychopathology and impairment in role functioning. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 23:41, 1970.

• Zubin, J. & Fleiss, J. (1964). Taxonomy in the mental disorders: a historic perspective. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Symposium on Explorations in Typology with Special Reference to Psychotics. New York: Human Ecology Fund, September, 1964. (in mimeograph).

• Zubin, J., and Fleiss, J. (1970). Current biometric approaches to depression, in R. R. Fieve, ed., Depression in the 70’s, Proceedings of the Symposium, New York, October 1970, 7-19. (Available online: http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/research/biometrics/Publications/Biometrics%20Archives%20PDF/386-Zubin&Fleiss%2019700001.pdf)

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Items of the Personal Feelings Inventory (PFI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I have less interest than usual in things.

2. I have difficulty concentrating.

3. I am often sad or depressed.

4. I have been uneasy or anxious in the past month.

5. I feel depressed most of the time.

6. I have trouble giving attention to ordinary routine.

7. I have tried to avoid one or more situations in the past month.

8. I have felt life wasn’t worth living.

9. I tremble; my hands are shaky; I feel weak at the knees.

10. I have difficulty coming to a conclusion or decision.

11. I feel overwhelmed with life.

12. My thoughts dwell on a few troubles.

13. My hands are sweating and clammy.

14. I have kept up very few interests.

15. Little if anything interests me.

16. I feel hot and cold‚ and blush or get pale readily.

17. I spend less time at usual recreational activities.

18. I have butterflies or a sinking feeling in my stomach.

19. I feel miserable or unhappy.

20. I can’t concentrate when reading.

21. I am bothered by feelings of inadequacy.

22. My heart pounds or flutters when I am uneasy or panicky.

23. I have too little energy.

24. I can’t concentrate on movies or T.V. programs.

25. I have fear of a particular object or situation.

26. I tend to depreciate or criticize myself.

27. I have a dry or coated mouth.

28. I don’t seem to smile anymore.

29. I enjoy almost nothing.

30. I enjoy doing little if anything.

31. My fears prevent me from participating in some activities.

32. I have had difficulty with my memory lately.

33. I keep losing my train of thought.

34. I have dizziness‚ faintness‚ and/or giddiness.

35. I think about my death.

36. I have difficulty in getting my breath‚ and have a choking‚ tightness in my chest.

37. My thoughts get muddled.

38. I have trouble remembering something I have just read or heard.

39. I seem to be slowed down in thinking.

40. I have attacks of fear or panic and feel I have to do something to end it.

41. I spend time sitting around or in bed.

42. Recently I’ve been thinking of ending it all.

43. I am uneasy when I go out alone or stay home alone.

44. My memory is impaired.

45. I avoid going out alone or staying home alone.

46. My movements are slowed down.

47. I can’t make up my mind.

48. I have thoughts about killing myself.

49. I am uneasy when in an enclosed space.

50. I feel slowed down.

51. I am discouraged about the future.

52. I am uneasy when in crowds.

53. I have lost interest in work.

54. I avoid being in crowds.

55. I can’t concentrate on what people are saying.

56. I get attacks of sudden fear or panic.

57. I feel worthless.

58. I have little interest in movies or T.V.

59. I spend almost no time at recreation.

60. I avoid being in an enclosed space.

61. I feel ill at ease with people in general.

62. My future is bleak.

63. I continually feel afraid of things.

64. I get angry with myself.

65. I have a diminished appetite.

66. I feel slowed down in my thinking.

Response Format: True/ False

Anxiety Subscale: Items 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 18, 22, 25, 27, 31, 34, 36, 40, 43, 45, 49, 52, 54, 56, 60 and 63.

Depression Subscale (45 items): Items 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18-21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 55, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 64, 65, and 66.