SMST

Brief 5-item self-test for measuring self-management competence, for people with and without mental health conditions.

Screener

Summary and structure

The Self-Management Self-Test (SMST) is a brief self-report scale that measures self-management competence: the ability to regulate oneself in everyday life, keep a balance and act effectively. It was developed by Peter M. Wehmeier and colleagues and published in 2019.

Each of the five items covers one area of self-management and is rated from 0 (very poor) to 4 (very good). The total score ranges from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating better self-management competence. No clinical cut-off is applied; the score is used to describe the current state and to follow change over time.

The five areas

1. Attending to one’s inner state and perceiving external reality

2. Managing interpersonal relationships and social contacts

3. Setting priorities and planning the future

4. Choosing between options and making decisions

5. Putting what is feasible into practice and acting effectively

Key Data

Age group: Adults (≥18 years)

Items: 5

Completion time: about 1 minute

Languages in SwissDTx: German

Intended Use

The SMST is intended for people with and without mental health conditions. It is suited to coaching, prevention and workplace health programmes, as well as psychotherapy and psychiatry, where it can show how self-management develops during treatment.

The validation study included 595 people from the general population and 87 inpatients with major depression. The scale showed good internal consistency and clearly distinguished the clinical group from a matched non-clinical group.

Information for Practitioners

The SMST is a self-assessment of competence, not a symptom or diagnostic measure. Low scores point to areas worth exploring together, for example planning, decision-making or relationships.

In SwissDTx, the total score is calculated automatically and shown as a progress curve in the Care Cockpit.

Authors

Peter M. Wehmeier

Theresa Fox

Johanna M. Doerr

Nadja Schnierer

Matthias Bender

Urs M. Nater

Scientific References

Wehmeier P.M., Fox T., Doerr J.M., Schnierer N., Bender M., & Nater U.M. (2019). Development and validation of a brief measure of self-management competence: the Self-Management Self-Test (SMST). Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2168479019849879

Licence

AVAILABLE FOR CUSTOMERS

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