Psychological assessment of patients with temporomandibular disorders: confirmatory analysis of the dimensional structure of the Brief Symptoms Inventory 18.
OBJECTIVE
This article analyzes the psychometric and structural properties of the Brief Symptoms Inventory 18 in a sample of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), given the convenience of a brief evaluation of distress in these patients.


METHODS
Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out in a sample of 114 patients with TMDs. Two models were tested: the theoretical model with the original structure proposed--which considers three dimensions--and the empirical model obtained through the exploratory factor analysis initially carried out by Leonard R. Derogatis--which consists of the four-factor structure.


RESULTS
Both models reached satisfactory indexes in confirmatory factor analysis. Empirical and theoretical reasons led us to prefer the original proposal of three dimensions: somatization, depression and anxiety, and general distress.


CONCLUSIONS
The Brief Symptoms Inventory 18 has been demonstrated to be a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of distress in patients with TMDs, with the advantage of its simplicity and ease of application.
Department of Personality, Assessment, and Psychological Treatment, Valencia University, Blasco Ibañez 21, Spain.
Estrella
E
Durá
Yolanda
Y
Andreu
Maria J
MJ
Galdón
Maite
M
Ferrando
Sergio
S
Murgui
Rafael
R
Poveda
Yolanda
Y
Jimenez
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*