title: [The short version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI -18): preliminary psychometric properties of the German translation].
abstract: The short version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) is an easily applicable, reliable and valid self-report measure in wide international use. It assesses the syndroms of somatisation, depression and anxiety by means of 6 items each. For the psychometric evaluation of the German translation, undergraduate students, non-clinical subjects and psychosomatic outpatients were administered the BSI-18. Across these populations, all scales showed satisfactory to good internal consistencies (Cronbachs alpha ranged between 0.63 and 0.93). The item-total correlation as item discrimination index was sufficiently high, patricularly in the patient sample (rit ≥ 0.40). The correlations of the BSI-18 with measures of similar dimensions were moderate to high indicating a good convergent validity. Criterion-related validity was established in so far that patients scored significantly higher in all BSI-18 scales than did the non-clinical samples. With some exceptions, the German translation of the BSI-18 has similarly good psychometric qualities as the American original.
authors.affiliation: Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf. c.spitzer@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spitzer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Löwe
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Grabe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barnow
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wingenfeld
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Freyberger
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Franke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D014177:Translations; D055815:Young Adult