AD ACL Short Form

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I know there are some psychotherapists on this list. Have any of

you--or has anyone else--had experience with the the

Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD ACL)?

http://www.csulb.edu/~thayer/thayer/adacl.htm

This is one of the tests that Peckerman/Natelson used to measure a

patient's level of fatigue on the day they did the impedance

cardiography test.

http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/cardiac-1.html

Cheney apparently believed there was a strong correlation between the

results of these tests and cardiac output. I'm suspicious of most tests

that purport to measure fatigue because it seems to me that what they

are measuring is mood, especially depression. But I don't know about

this one.

Would it be useful if people took this test and posted their scores and

commented on how accurately it measured their ability to function? I'd

really like to know l what people think of it.

It's a very, very short test and should only take a minute or two. You

simply apply this key to the list of words below. The website says,

" Work rapidly, but please mark all the words. Your first reaction is

best. "

vv = this is DEFINITELY how you feel at this moment (4 points)

v = you feel slightly this way at the moment (3 points)

? = you can't decide if this is how you feel at the moment) (2 points)

no = no, you definitely do not feel this way at the moment. (1 point)

---------------

Here's the test:

active vv v ? no

placid vv v ? no

sleepy vv v ? no

jittery vv v ? no

energetic vv v ? no

intense vv v ? no

calm vv v ? no

tired vv v ? no

vigorous vv v ? no

at-rest vv v ? no

drowsy vv v ? no

fearful vv v ? no

lively vv v ? no

still vv v ? no

wide-awake vv v ? no

clutched-up vv v ? no

quiet vv v ? no

full-of-pep vv v ? no

tense vv v ? no

wakeful vv v ? no

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How do you score it? Beats me. This is what the website says:

" The AD ACL is scored by assigning 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively to the

" vv, v, ? " and " no " scale points, and summing or averaging the five

scores for each subscale. (An appropriate template can be easily

constructed.) In order of appearance, the subscale adjectives are as

follows: Energetic (active, energetic, vigorous, lively, full-of-pep);

Tired (sleepy, tired, drowsy, wide-awake, wakeful); Tension (jittery,

intense, fearful, clutched-up, tense); Calmness (placid, calm, at-rest,

still, quiet). Scoring for " wakeful " and " wide-awake " must be reversed

for the Tiredness subscale. Tiredness and Calmness scores must be

reversed (but not wakeful and wide-awake in this case) before summing

the ten scores. "

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For what it's worthy, I'll offer my own results here, though I don't

know how to score it. For context, I am a healthy 68-year-old

caregiver.

active 4 (I would be active if I weren't sitting here. I hate

ambiguous tests.)

placid 3 (Aside from disliking this test, I'm pretty placid.)

sleepy 1 (I have dry eyes, which sometimes make me think I'm sleepy.)

jittery 1

energetic 4

intense 2 (This doesn't ring a bell.)

calm 4

tired 2

vigorous 4 (I would feel vigorous if I weren't taking this test.)

at-rest 3 (Is that the same as calm?)

drowsy 1 (How does drowsy differ from sleepy?)

fearful 1

lively 3 (I would be if I weren't sitting at the computer.)

still 3 (How can you be still, and type?)

wide-awake 4

clutched-up 1

quiet 1

full-of-pep 3 (Less so by the moment, as this test is irritating me.)

tense 1

wakeful 4

-----------------------------------

So what do you think? Is this a good test of function? Of how sick

you are? There's a longer version of this test.

Sue ,

Upstate New York