Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment

June 2010, Volume 32, Issue 2, pp 246254 | Cite as

Comparison of Eleven Short Versions of the Symptom

Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) for Use in the
Assessment of General Psychopathology
Authors
Authors and affiliations

Jrg M. MllerEmail author

Christian Postert
Thomas Beyer
Tilman Furniss
Sandra Achtergarde

Jrg M. Mller
o 1

Email author

Christian Postert
o 1
Thomas Beyer
o 1
Tilman Furniss
o 1
Sandra Achtergarde
o 1

1. 1.Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryUniversity Hospital MnsterMnsterGermany

Article
First Online: 09 June 2009

1.2k Downloads
27 Citations

Abstract
Eleven short versions of the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) assessing general psychopathology, containing 5 to
53 items, were compared on the basis of data from a sample of one hundred mothers of 0-to-6-year-old children
referred for treatment at a Child Psychiatric Family Day Hospital in Mnster, Germany. The SCL short versions
were compared with regard to internal consistency, sensitivity and specificity, ability to distinguish between
subjects by a new test index (PDTS), and association with indicators of validity (SCL-90-R Global Severity Index,
BDI scores). All short versions showed almost equally high internal consistency, sensitivity and specificity, and
high correlations with validity indices. The PDTS test index describes a good ability of the original SCL-90-R to
differentiate between subjects, a moderate performance for the BSI, the HSCL-25 and the SCL-27, and a poor
performance of the very short formsaccording to the standards of interpreting PDTS scores. The SCL-10S is
recommended for screening purposes because this scale represented the best compromise between economy and
accuracy. However, for other research and clinical purposes, the use of one of the longer short versions (BSI,
HSCL-25, or SCL-27) is recommended because of their superior discriminative ability.
Keywords

SCL-90-R Symptom checklist Short version Internal consistency Validity PDTS Screening

Notes
Expertise

Statistical methods; Analyses of questionnaires; Research consultant

Projects

Funding of the project Development, Application and Meta-Analysis of test index of psychological assessment

References

1. Asner-Self, K. K., Schreiber, J. B., & Marotta, S. A. (2006). A cross-cultural analysis of the brief symptom
inventory-18. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12, 367375.CrossRefPubMedGoogle
Scholar
2. Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Garbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck depression
inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77100.CrossRefGoogle
Scholar
3. Benishek, L. A., Hayes, C. M., Bieschke, K. J., & Stoffelmayr, B. E. (1998). Exploratory and confirmatory
factor analyses of the brief symptom inventory among substance abusers. Journal of Substance Abuse, 10,
103114.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
4. Butcher, J. N., Dahlstrom, W. G., Graham, J. R., Tellegen, A., & Kaemmer, B. (1989). Minnesota
multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI-2). Manual for administration and scoring. Minneapolis:
University of Minneapolis Press.Google Scholar
5. Derogatis, L. R. (1992). SCL-90-R, administration, scoring & procedures manual-II for the R(evised)
version and other instruments of the psychopathology rating scale series. Townson: Clinical Psychometric
Research, Inc.Google Scholar
6. Derogatis, L. R. (1993). Brief symptom inventory (BSI): Administration, scoring, and procedures manual
(3rd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems.Google Scholar
7. Derogatis, L. R. (2000). The brief symptom inventory-18 (BSI-18): Administration, scoring and procedures
manual. Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems.Google Scholar
8. Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S., & Covi, L. (1973). SCL-90: an outpatient psychiatric rating scale
preliminary report. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 9, 1328.PubMedGoogle Scholar
9. Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S., Rickels, K., Uhlenhuth, E. H., & Covi, L. (1974). The Hopkins Symptom
Checklist (HSCL): a self-report symptom inventory. Behavior Sciences, 19, 115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Franke, G. H. (2002). Die Symptom-Checkliste von Derogatis SCL-90-R. (2. Aufl.). Gttingen:
Beltz.Google Scholar
11. Hardt, J., & Brhler, E. (2007). Symptom checklists in patients with chronic pain [German]. Schmerz, 21,
714.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
12. Hardt, J., & Gerbershagen, H. U. (2001). Cross-validation of the SCL-27: a short psychometric screening
instrument for chronic pain patients. European Journal of Pain, 5, 187197.CrossRefPubMedGoogle
Scholar
13. Hautzinger, M., Bailer, M., Worall, H., & Keller, F. (1995). Beck-depressions-inventar (BDI).
Testhandbuch. Bern: Hans Huber.Google Scholar
14. Hesbacher, P. T., Rickels, K., Morris, R. J., Newman, H., & Rosenfeld, H. (1980). Psychiatric illness in
family practice. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 41, 610.PubMedGoogle Scholar
15. Hessel, A., Schumacher, J., Geyer, M., & Brhler, E. (2001). Symptom-Checkliste SCL-90-R:
Testtheoretische berprfung und Normierung an einer bevlkerungsreprsentativen Stichprobe.
Diagnostica, 47, 2739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Hoffmann, N. G., & Overall, P. B. (1978). Factor structure of the SCL-90 in a psychatric population.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 11871191.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
17. Jackson, D. N. (1989). Basic personality inventory. Port Huron, MI: Research Psychologists.Google
Scholar
18. Klaghofer, R., & Brhler, E. (2001). Konstruktion und Teststatistische Prfung einer Kurzform der SCL-
90-R. Zeitschrift fr Klinische Psychologie, Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, 49, 115124.Google Scholar
19. Lee, B., Kaaya, S. F., Mbwambo, J. K., Smith-Fawzi, M. C., & Leshabari, M. C. (2008). Detecting
depressive disorder with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 in Tanzania. International Journal of Social
Psychiatry, 54, 720.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
20. Loutsiou-Ladd, A., Panayiotou, G., & Kokkinos, C. M. (2008). A review of the factorial structure of the
brief symptom inventory (BSI): Greek evidence. International Journal of Testing, 8, 90
110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21. Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS).
Sydney: Psychology Foundation.Google Scholar
22. Lutz, W., Tholen, S., Schrch, E., & Berking, M. (2006). Die Entwicklung, Validierung und Reliabilitt
von Kurzformen gngiger psychometrischer Instrumente zur Evaluation des therapeutischen Fortschritts in
Psychotherapie und Psychiatrie. Diagnostica, 52, 1125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. Mller, J. M. (2006a). The probability of obtaining two statistically different test scores as a test index.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 601611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24. Mller, J. M. (2006b). SAS macros to compute the descriptive test index PDTS. Applied Psychological
Measurement, 30, 345346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25. Nguyen, T. D., Attkisson, C. C., & Stegner, B. L. (1983). Assessment of patient satisfaction: development
and refinement of a service evaluation questionnaire. Evaluation and Program Planning, 6, 299
314.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
26. Prelow, H. M., Weaver, S. R., Swenson, R. R., & Bowman, M. A. (2005). Preliminary investigation of the
validity and reliability of the brief-symptom inventory-18 in economically disadvantaged Latina American
mothers. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 139155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27. Ramchandani, P., Stein, A., Evans, J., & OConnor, T. G. (2005). Paternal depression in the postnatal
period and child development: a prospective population study. The Lancet, 365, 2201
2205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Recklitis, C. J., Parsons, D. K., Shih, M.-C., Mertens, A., Robison, L. L., & Zeltzer, L. (2006). Factor
structure of the brief symptom Inventory-18 in adult survivors of childhood cancer: results from the
childhood cancer survivor study. Psychological Assessment, 18, 2232.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
29. Richter, P., Werner, J., Heerlein, A., Kraus, A., & Sauer, H. (1998). On the validity of the Beck depression
inventory. Psychopathology, 31, 160168.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
30. Rosen, C. S., Drescher, K. D., Moos, R. H., Finney, J. W., Murphy, R. T., & Gusman, F. (2000). Six- and
ten-item indexes of psychological distress based on the Symptom-Checklist 90. Assessment, 7, 103
111.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
31. Schauenburg, H., & Strack, M. (1998). Die Symptom-Checklist-90-R zur Darstellung von statistischen und
klinisch signifikanten psychotherapie-ergebnissen. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische
Psychologie, 48, 257264.PubMedGoogle Scholar
32. Schauenburg, H., & Strack, M. (1999). Measuring psychotherapeutic change with the Symptom Checklist-
90-R. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 68, 199206.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
33. Strand, B. H., Dalgard, O. S., Tambs, K., & Rognerund, M. (2003). Measuring the mental health status of
the Norwegian population: a comparison of the instruments SCL-25, SCL-10, SCL-5 and MHI-5 (SF-36).
Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 57, 113118.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
34. Tambs, K., & Moum, T. (1993). How well can a few questionnaire items indicate anxiety and depression?
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 87, 364367.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
35. Von Hofacker, N., & Papousek, M. (1998). Disorders of excessive crying, feeding, and sleeping: the
Munich interdisciplinary research and intervention program. Infant Mental Health Journal, 19, 180
201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36. Ware, J. E., Jr., & Sherbourne, C. D. (1992). The MOS 36-item shortform health survey (SF-36). I.
Conceptual framework and item selection. Medical Care, 30, 473483.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
37. Winokur, A., Winokur, D. F., Rickels, K., & Cox, D. S. (1984). Symptoms of emotional distress in a
family planning service: stability over a four-week period. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 395
399.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar