Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor
Abstract Introduction The existence of a general factor related to psychiatric symptoms is supported by studies using a variety of methods in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Objectives This study aims to evaluate the replicability of the internal structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892022000100409&tlng=en |
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| author | Alexandre Luiz de Oliveira Serpa Danielle Souza Costa Clarice de Medeiros Chaves Ferreira Mayra Isabel C. Pinheiro Alexandre Paim Diaz Jonas Jardim de Paula Debora Marques Miranda Antônio Geraldo da Silva Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz |
| author_facet | Alexandre Luiz de Oliveira Serpa Danielle Souza Costa Clarice de Medeiros Chaves Ferreira Mayra Isabel C. Pinheiro Alexandre Paim Diaz Jonas Jardim de Paula Debora Marques Miranda Antônio Geraldo da Silva Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz |
| author_sort | Alexandre Luiz de Oliveira Serpa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction The existence of a general factor related to psychiatric symptoms is supported by studies using a variety of methods in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Objectives This study aims to evaluate the replicability of the internal structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory in a large Brazilian sample. Methods Participants were 6,427 Brazilian subjects (81% female). Mean age was 42.1 years (standard deviation [SD] = 13.6, Min = 13, Max = 80). All participants completed the online version of the Brief Symptom Inventory. This scale presents a general score (GSI) and nine specific clusters of symptoms (depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, interpersonal sensibility, psychoticism, paranoid ideation, obsessive-compulsive behavior, hostility, and somatization symptoms). Results Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess the factor structure of the BSI. The results showed that the best-fitting model was a bifactor solution and the general factor was the main dimension explaining most of the reliable variability in the data. Conclusion The findings suggest that the BSI’s internal structure was replicated in a non-clinical sample and that the general factor is the most reliable score. However, it is necessary to better understand the meaning of the general factor scores in a non-clinical sample to increase interpretability of scores. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:10:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c8fd612d9084033934c98eb13a11b9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2238-0019 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:10:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Associação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c8fd612d9084033934c98eb13a11b9e2022-12-22T02:52:52ZengAssociação de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do SulTrends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy2238-00192022-05-014410.47626/2237-6089-2021-0207Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factorAlexandre Luiz de Oliveira Serpahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1924-2128Danielle Souza Costahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6883-5133Clarice de Medeiros Chaves Ferreirahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0766-1827Mayra Isabel C. Pinheirohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7548-691XAlexandre Paim Diazhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6591-6648Jonas Jardim de Paulahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5530-2346Debora Marques Mirandahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7081-8401Antônio Geraldo da Silvahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3423-7076Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Dinizhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6606-1354Abstract Introduction The existence of a general factor related to psychiatric symptoms is supported by studies using a variety of methods in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Objectives This study aims to evaluate the replicability of the internal structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory in a large Brazilian sample. Methods Participants were 6,427 Brazilian subjects (81% female). Mean age was 42.1 years (standard deviation [SD] = 13.6, Min = 13, Max = 80). All participants completed the online version of the Brief Symptom Inventory. This scale presents a general score (GSI) and nine specific clusters of symptoms (depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, interpersonal sensibility, psychoticism, paranoid ideation, obsessive-compulsive behavior, hostility, and somatization symptoms). Results Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess the factor structure of the BSI. The results showed that the best-fitting model was a bifactor solution and the general factor was the main dimension explaining most of the reliable variability in the data. Conclusion The findings suggest that the BSI’s internal structure was replicated in a non-clinical sample and that the general factor is the most reliable score. However, it is necessary to better understand the meaning of the general factor scores in a non-clinical sample to increase interpretability of scores.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892022000100409&tlng=enPsychological factorsreproducibility of resultsmental disorderspsychometrics |
| spellingShingle | Alexandre Luiz de Oliveira Serpa Danielle Souza Costa Clarice de Medeiros Chaves Ferreira Mayra Isabel C. Pinheiro Alexandre Paim Diaz Jonas Jardim de Paula Debora Marques Miranda Antônio Geraldo da Silva Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Psychological factors reproducibility of results mental disorders psychometrics |
| title | Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor |
| title_full | Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor |
| title_fullStr | Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor |
| title_short | Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor |
| title_sort | psychometric properties of the brief symptom inventory support the hypothesis of a general psychopathological factor |
| topic | Psychological factors reproducibility of results mental disorders psychometrics |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-60892022000100409&tlng=en |
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