Research

The reliability and validity of a Japanese version of symptom checklist 90 revised

Mitsunao Tomioka¹ , Midori Shimura² , Mikio Hidaka³ and Chiharu Kubo¹

¹  Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Kyushu University Hospital, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, 812-8582, Japan

²  Karibe CLINIC, SOTSU BLD. 2F, 1-3 Honmachi, Naka-ku, Yokohama City, 231-0005, Japan

³  Faculty of Literarure, Kurume University, 1635 Mii-machi, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, 839-8502, Japan

author email corresponding author email

BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2008, 2:19doi:10.1186/1751-0759-2-19

Published:	28 October 2008

Abstract

Objective

To examine the validity and reliability of a Japanese version of the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R (J)).

Methods

The English SCL-90-R was translated to Japanese and the Japanese version confirmed by back-translation. To determine the factor validity and internal consistency of the nine primary subscales, 460 people from the community completed SCL-90-R(J). Test-retest reliability was examined for 104 outpatients and 124 healthy undergraduate students. The convergent-discriminant validity was determined for 80 inpatients who replied to both SCL-90-R(J) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

Results

The correlation coefficients between the nine primary subscales and items were .26 to .78. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were from .76 (Phobic Anxiety) to .86 (Interpersonal Sensitivity). Pearson's correlation coefficients between test-retest scores were from .81 (Psychoticism) to .90 (Somatization) for the outpatients and were from .64 (Phobic Anxiety) to .78 (Paranoid Ideation) for the students. Each of the nine primary subscales correlated well with their corresponding constructs in the MMPI.

Conclusion

We confirmed the validity and reliability of SCL-90-R(J) for the measurement of individual distress. The nine primary subscales were consistent with the items of the original English version.