Psychometric analysis of the SCL-90-R and its short versions in youth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52340/bal/2023.03.04Keywords:
Georgian version of SCL-90-R, short versions, general psychological distress, specific primary symptoms of distress, symptom severityAbstract
The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised was constructed to measure both general psychological distress and specific primary symptoms of distress. This study conducted a psychometric analysis of the Georgian version of the SCL-90 questionnaire and its short forms (BSI, SCL-27, BSI-18, SCL-14, SCL-K-9): the factor structure and reliability were studied, the equivalence of the full and short forms was tested. The study was conducted on a convenience sample, 464 subjects were selected to participate (79% female and 21% male, with a mean age of 21.4±6.2) completed SCL-90-R questionnaire. The items of the short versions were extracted from SCL-90-R. The results obtained indicate the high reliability of the SCL-90-R and its short forms: The Crombach alpha and McDonald's omega value is above 0.7. The correlation between the corresponding scales, as well as symptom severity indices of the full and short forms of the questionnaire, exceeds 0.9. The single-factor structure of both the long form and the five short forms of the questionnaire was confirmed, indicating the construct validity of the SCL-90-R and its short forms designed to measure the broad construct of psychological distress. The Symptom Questionnaire and its short forms provide a reliable and valid tool for the psychological assessment of psychological distress and psychopathological symptoms among youth. All forms of the questionnaire can be used both for research purposes and for psychological counseling.
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