Assessment of validity and clinical application of an Italian version of the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist.

An Italian version of the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) has been validated in a sample of 147 healthy women and 61 breast cancer outpatients. The structure of the RSCL has been analysed by factor analysis reproducing results of the English version, and the psychological and physical subscales showed a good internal reliability (Chronbach's alpha 0.91; 0.87). The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire and the RSCL were compared in the healthy women sample. A Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.74 (p < 0.01) was found between the trait anxiety and RSCL psychological scores. Psychological (mean: 17.5; SD: +/- 5.4) and physical (mean: 37.8; SD: +/- 8.6) subscale scores were correlated in healthy women (PCC: 0.68; p < 0.01) and related to a general wellbeing item (PCC: 0.44; p < 0.01). The breast cancer outpatients showed scores for psychological and physical subscales similar to those in the healthy women sample. The Italian version of the RSCL seems comparable to the English version and could be useful in clinical research. Its use in longitudinal studies should be tested.