title: Development and Validation of the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and validate a new self-report questionnaire for the assessment of the psychological features of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition somatic symptom disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12) was developed in several steps from an initial pool of 98 items. The SSD-12 is composed of 12 items; each of the three psychological subcriteria is measured by four items. In a cross-sectional study, the SSD-12 was administered to 698 patients (65.8% female, mean [standard deviation] age = 38.79 [14.15] years) from a psychosomatic outpatient clinic. Item and scale characteristics as well as measures of reliability and validity were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SSD-12 has good item characteristics and excellent reliability (Cronbach α = .95). Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that a three-factorial structure that reflects the three psychological criteria interpreted as cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects (n = 663, Comparative Fit Index > 0.99, Tucker-Lewis Index > 0.99, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.06, 90% confidence interval = 0.01-0.08). SSD-12 total sum score was significantly associated with somatic symptom burden (r = 0.47, p < .001) and health anxiety (r = 0.71, p < .001), and moderately associated with general anxiety (r = 0.35, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (r = 0.22, p < .001). Patients with a higher SSD-12 psychological symptom burden reported higher general physical and mental health impairment and significantly higher health care use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SSD-12 is the first self-report questionnaire that operationalizes the new psychological characteristics of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition somatic symptom disorder. Initial assessment indicates that the SSD-12 has sufficient reliability and validity to warrant further testing in both research and clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy (Toussaint, Murray, Voigt, Herzog, Gierk, Löwe), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf & Schön Clinic Hamburg-Eilbek, Hamburg, Germany; VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication (Kroenke), Indiana University School of Medicine, and Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Clinical Psychology (Rief), University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany; and Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy (Henningsen), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toussaint
authors.forename: Alexandra M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.forename: Annabel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gierk
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kroenke
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rief
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Henningsen
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Löwe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D055815:Young Adult