THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF 3 VIDEOS DESIGNED TO PSYCHOLOGICALLY PREPARE PATIENTS FOR CORONARY-BYPASS SURGERY

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the validation of videota pe interventions that were designed to prepare patients for coronary a rtery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. First, three videotapes were develo ped. Two of the tapes featured the experiences of three actual CABG pa tients and were constructed to present either an optimistic portrayal of the recovery period (mastery tape) or a portrayal designed to inocu late patients against potential problems (coping tape). The third vide otape contained the more general nurse scenes and narration used in th e other two tapes, but did not include the experiences of particular p atients. We then conducted a study to establish the convergent and dis criminant validity of the three tapes. That is, we sought to demonstra te both that the tapes did differ along the mastery-coping dimension, and that they did not differ in other respects (such as in the degree of information provided or the perceived credibility of the narrator). The validation study, conducted with 42 males who had previously unde rgone CABG, demonstrated that the intended equivalences and difference s between the tapes were achieved. The importance of establishing the validity of health-related interventions is discussed.