Sören Kliem1, Anna Lohmann2, Thimna Klatt2, Thomas Mößle2, Florian Rehbein2, Andreas Hinz3, Manfred Beutel4, Elmar Brähler5. 1. Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, Germany; Technical University of Brunswick, Department of Psychology, Germany. Electronic address: Soeren.Kliem@kfn.de. 2. Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, Germany. 3. University of Leipzig, Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Germany. 4. University of Mainz, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Germany. 5. University of Leipzig, Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Germany; University of Mainz, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Although there is no causal relationship to medical morbidity, routine clinical assessment of somatic symptoms aids medical diagnosis and assessment of treatment effectiveness. Regardless of their causes, somatic symptoms indicate suffering, distress, and help-seeking behavior. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a brief self-report questionnaire to assess somatic symptom strain. METHODS: A brief form of the Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-8) was developed and validated in a large population sample representative of the Federal Republic of Germany (N=2008). Psychometric analyses included confirmation of factor structure, classical item analysis, and measurement invariance tests. The sample furthermore served as a norm group. As indicators of construct validity, correlations with measures of anxiety, depression, alexithymia, and primary care contact were computed. RESULTS: Psychometric analyses yielded excellent scale properties regarding item characteristics, factor structure, and measurement invariance tests (Cronbach's alpha=0.88; CFI=0.980, TLI=0.965, RMSEA=0.049) for the second-order four-factor model; strict invariance was confirmed for gender, depression status, and physician contacts; strong invariance was confirmed regarding age and age×gender. CONCLUSIONS: The GBB-8 with its four subscales exhaustion, gastrointestinal complaints, musculoskeletal complaints, and cardiovascular complaints proves to be an economic measure of subjective symptom strain. Psychometric analyses deem it suitable for epidemiological research. The availability of norms makes it a potential everyday tool for general practitioners and psychosomatic clinics.
OBJECTIVE: Although there is no causal relationship to medical morbidity, routine clinical assessment of somatic symptoms aids medical diagnosis and assessment of treatment effectiveness. Regardless of their causes, somatic symptoms indicate suffering, distress, and help-seeking behavior. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a brief self-report questionnaire to assess somatic symptom strain. METHODS: A brief form of the Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-8) was developed and validated in a large population sample representative of the Federal Republic of Germany (N=2008). Psychometric analyses included confirmation of factor structure, classical item analysis, and measurement invariance tests. The sample furthermore served as a norm group. As indicators of construct validity, correlations with measures of anxiety, depression, alexithymia, and primary care contact were computed. RESULTS: Psychometric analyses yielded excellent scale properties regarding item characteristics, factor structure, and measurement invariance tests (Cronbach's alpha=0.88; CFI=0.980, TLI=0.965, RMSEA=0.049) for the second-order four-factor model; strict invariance was confirmed for gender, depression status, and physician contacts; strong invariance was confirmed regarding age and age×gender. CONCLUSIONS: The GBB-8 with its four subscales exhaustion, gastrointestinal complaints, musculoskeletal complaints, and cardiovascular complaints proves to be an economic measure of subjective symptom strain. Psychometric analyses deem it suitable for epidemiological research. The availability of norms makes it a potential everyday tool for general practitioners and psychosomatic clinics.
Authors: Manfred E Beutel; Jörg Wiltink; Jasmin Ghaemi Kerahrodi; Ana N Tibubos; Elmar Brähler; Andreas Schulz; Philipp Wild; Thomas Münzel; Karl Lackner; Jochem König; Norbert Pfeiffer; Matthias Michal; Michaela Henning Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2019-03-14 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Manfred E Beutel; Eva M Klein; Michaela Henning; Antonia M Werner; Juliane Burghardt; Ana Nanette Tibubos; Gabriele Schmutzer; Elmar Brähler Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2020-01-31 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Marie Weinreich Petersen; Marianne Rosendal; Eva Ørnbøl; Per Fink; Torben Jørgensen; Thomas Meinertz Dantoft; Andreas Schröder Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2020-12-10 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Svenja B Frenzel; Nina M Junker; Lorenzo Avanzi; Aidos Bolatov; S Alexander Haslam; Jan A Häusser; Ronit Kark; Ines Meyer; Andreas Mojzisch; Lucas Monzani; Stephen Reicher; Adil Samekin; Valerie A Schury; Niklas K Steffens; Liliya Sultanova; Dina Van Dijk; Llewellyn E van Zyl; Rolf Van Dick Journal: Br J Soc Psychol Date: 2021-06-16