Jochen Hardt1, Malgorzata Dragan, Bernd Kappis. 1. Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Mainz, Germany. hardt@uni-mainz.de
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The symptom checklist SCL-27 is a short, multidimensional screening instrument for mental health problems. It contains six scales: depressive, dysthymic, vegetative, agoraphobic and sociophobic symptoms; symptoms of mistrust; and a global severity index (GSI-27). METHODS: A survey of two student samples from Poland and Germany (n ∼ 400) is presented. RESULTS: Most scales of the SCL-27 showed good to satisfactory reliability (i.e. Cronbach's α > 0.70). Some items displayed different characteristics in students than in non-student samples. These discrepancies can be explained partly by the particular situation students face and partly by some country-specific or language-specific aspects of the measuring instrument. Differences between Polish and German students were marginal at best; in general, the Polish students tended to assent more easily to the items of the SCL-27 than did the German students. CONCLUSIONS: The SCL-27 is suitable for international comparisons. In both, Germany and Poland, students display a characteristic response pattern that differs from those of other samples. It can be applied as a separate instrument or for reanalysis of data collected with the SCL-90_R.
OBJECTIVE: The symptom checklist SCL-27 is a short, multidimensional screening instrument for mental health problems. It contains six scales: depressive, dysthymic, vegetative, agoraphobic and sociophobic symptoms; symptoms of mistrust; and a global severity index (GSI-27). METHODS: A survey of two student samples from Poland and Germany (n ∼ 400) is presented. RESULTS: Most scales of the SCL-27 showed good to satisfactory reliability (i.e. Cronbach's α > 0.70). Some items displayed different characteristics in students than in non-student samples. These discrepancies can be explained partly by the particular situation students face and partly by some country-specific or language-specific aspects of the measuring instrument. Differences between Polish and German students were marginal at best; in general, the Polish students tended to assent more easily to the items of the SCL-27 than did the German students. CONCLUSIONS: The SCL-27 is suitable for international comparisons. In both, Germany and Poland, students display a characteristic response pattern that differs from those of other samples. It can be applied as a separate instrument or for reanalysis of data collected with the SCL-90_R.