Validity assessment of the symptom checklist SCL-90-R and shortened versions for the general population in Ukraine

BACKGROUND: The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) is a widely used symptomatic distress questionnaire. A translated version of the SCL-90-R has been applied in Ukrainian general population surveys several times but has not yet been validated in this country. The SCL-90-R and its short versions (BSI-53, SCL-27, BSI-18, SCL-14 and SCL-9-K) were investigated in order to comparatively assess their properties and applications in Ukraine. METHODS: Secondary analysis of three nationally representative cross-sectional surveys (1997, 1999 and 2014) using SCL-90-R was applied. Two thousand sixty nine respondents participated in 2014; the sample size for the 1997 and 1999 surveys was 1810 respondents per wave. Statistical data analysis is based on calculating internal consistencies with Cronbach’s Alpha, confirmatory factor analysis, nonparametric correlations and effect sizes for the equivalence of the full and short versions. RESULTS: The scales of SCL-90-R and its shortened versions showed equally high internal consistencies. With regard to factorial validity, 2014 data confirmed the dimensional structure of all versions. Unsatisfactory results were found in 1997 and 1999 for SCL-90-R and in 1997 for SCL-27, based on the Chi-square criterion (χ2/degrees of freedom > 5), though other indexes suggested satisfactory model fit (RMSEA < 0.06; CFI, TLI > 0.95). Analysis of the equivalence of shortened and full versions of the SCL-90-R has shown the presence of small effect sizes. CONCLUSION: BSI-18 and SCL-9-K are recommended for use in general population surveys as more economical versions of SCL-90-R. Both versions revealed satisfactory validity in 1997, 1999 and 2014. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1014-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.