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Theoretical OrientationTheoretical Orientation
The PMSI contains 73 constructs each of which are designed to measure a separate and distinct strength or problem in personal, emotional, interpersonal, spiritual and physical functioning.
Each subscale is viewed, by analogy, as being little more than a thermometer. A thermometer will measure the temperature of an object but it will give you no information about the source, cause or origin of the heat. A thermometer will inform a physician as to the presence of a fever but it is useless in giving information about what caused the fever. The PMSI subscales perform very much like a thermometer. They will do a good job of telling you that a client has a problem in an area addressed by one of the subscales and it will do a good job of telling you how serious that problem may be. However, none of the PMSI subscales provide any information whatsoever about the source or cause of the problems it measures. To continue the analogy, a thermometer is theoretically based only in the sense that it is interpreted from the theory of molecular motions. A thermometer is completely atheoretical with respect to theories about the causes of heat and heat exchange. Similarly, the PMSI is very theoretical with respect to the definition and measurement of strengths and problems in personal, emotional, interpersonal, spiritual and physical functioning. It is completely a-theoretical with respect to theories about the cause and control of those problems. |