Unidimensionality of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) in Adult and Adolescent Inpatients

Abstract

This study investigated the factor structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1992) for adult and adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The BSI was administered to 217 adults and 188 adolescents at admission and discharge from a private psychiatric hospital. Principal components factor analyses revealed that most variance among dimension scores was accounted for by one unrotated factor. Factorial invariance was evident across adult and adolescent samples for admission and discharge scores. Our findings are consistent with previous research on the BSI and Symptom Checklist-90-R (Derogatis, 1977), suggesting that both instruments measure primarily a unidimensional construct of general psychological distress.

Listado de síntomas breve (short checklist of symptoms) in Argentinean adults: psychometric study of its main clinical scales

“…This higher unique dimension of general psychiatric distress replicates previous findings (e.g. Benishek et al, 1998;Bonynge, 1993;Boulet & Boss, 1991;Cyr et al, 1985;Daoud & Abojedi, 2010;Grande, 2014;Loutsiou-Ladd et al, 2008;Martínez Azumendi et al, 2001;Piersma et al, 1994;Prunas et al, 2012;Torres et al, 2013;Zach et al, 1998). Compared to de Rivera and Abuín's (2012) factor analysis who had provided evidence for the use of subscales scores, here this results justify not only the use of subscales scores but also the use of a total score disregarding age or sex of the respondant.…”

“…According to de Rivera and Abuín (2012) the persistent factorial inconsistency might be explained by clinical comorbidity. Nevertheless, a higher-order unique factor that measures general psychiatric distress is frequently found (Benishek, Hayes, Bieschke, & Stoffelmayr, 1998;Bonynge, 1993;Boulet & Boss, 1991;Cyr et al, 1985;Daoud & Abojedi, 2010;Grande, 2014;Loutsiou-Ladd, Panayiotou & Kokkinos, 2008;Martínez Azumendi et al, 2001;Piersma, Boes, & Reaume, 1994;Prunas, Sarno, Preti, Madeddu & Perugini, 2012;Torres et al, 2013;Zach, Toneatto & Streiner, 1998). Additionally, strong positive correlations among symptoms scores reflect great convergence between scales (Abuín & de Rivera, 2014;Casullo & Castro Solano, 1999;Caparrós Caparrós et al, 2007;Chapman, Petrie, & Vines, 2012).…”

Supplemental mental health treatment for batterer program participants

“…The Global Severity Index is touted as the "most sensitive" subscale in identifying psychopathology and has a test-retest reliability of .90 (Boulet & Boss, 1991). The construct and discriminate validity of the syndrome subscales are less impressive (Peterson, 1989), and factor analyses suggest a unidimensionality of the BSI (Piersma, Boes, & Reaume, 1994). Following the recommended guidelines for male outpatients, men were considered "positive" on the BSI and warranting a clinical evaluation, if they scored greater than 62 out of the maximum 80 points on the GSI or any two of the other subscales.…”

Validez de constructo del LSB-50 en Adultos argentinos: validación cruzada e invarianza factorial

“…En este sentido, un hallazgo recurrente en estudios factoriales exploratorios (AFE) es una única dimensión superior usualmente identificada como una medida general de distrés psicológico (Benishek, Hayes, Bieschke y Stoffelmayr, 1998;Bonynge, 1993;Boulet y Boss, 1991;Cyr et al, 1985;Daoud y Abojedi, 2010;Grande, 2014;Loutsiou-Ladd, Panayiotou y Kokkinos, 2008;Martínez Azumendi, et al, 2001;Piersma, Boes y Reaume, 1994;Prunas, Sarno, Preti, Madeddu y Perugini, 2012;Torres et al, 2013;Zach, Toneatto y Streiner, 1998). En el caso de la SCL-90-R, por ejemplo, la constante falla en los intentos de replicar la estructura de nueve factores postulada complica la justificación del uso de las nueve puntuaciones correspondientes a las escalas.…”

“…Para el BSI, en cambio, la invarianza resultó verificada al analizar un grupo clínico y uno de población general, aunque no es un detalle menor que la estructura puesta a prueba fuera unidimensional (Daoud y Abojedi, 2010). No obstante, el análisis para adolescentes versus adultos no llegó a buenos resultados (Piersma et al, 1994). Torres et al (2013) testearon la invarianza del BSI-18 según sexo, nacionalidad e idioma pero sólo la verificaron en el caso de las submuestras divididas teniendo en cuenta el sexo de los participantes.…”