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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 αα > 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors present a system for nomenclature and documentation of symptoms and signs associated with pain. The system was compiled in a staged process by the study group for methods and documentation of pain-associated symptoms and signs (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Methodik und Dokumentation von Schmerzbefunden [AMDS]). The suggested items were elaborated from terms used in current national and international guidelines and classifications and in part integrated into superordinate terms. The items that were built up by this approach aim to reflect the broad spectrum of pain diseases. The items for the description of pain-associated symptoms and signs are divided into the areas of algesiomotor, psychoalgesiological and somatoalgesiological findings. The aim is the documentation of a multidimensional algesiological description of findings with defined terminology, which can serve as a comparable and unified standard, particularly in the field of pain assessment. The AMDS system should enable a systematic description of pain, which is a reliable foundation for diagnostics, therapy planning and expert case evaluation.

Objectives: What impact do the degree of somatization and the presence of a comorbid psychological disorder have on health-related quality of life in patients with pain-dominated somatoform disorders?, Methods: 282 consecutive patients (57.6 %) from a total population of N=490 patients fulfilling the criteria of somatoform pain disorders were included in the study following a thorough interdisciplinary diagnostic process at a German university hospital. Structured interviews (SKIDI and SKID-II) to assess comorbid psychological disorders as well as a structured biographical interview to assess chronification factors were conducted. We employed the Screening for Somatoform Disorders form (SOMS) to discover the extent and distribution of somatic symptoms and the SF-36 to determine the health-related quality of life., Results: The patients exhibited a multiplicity of further somatic complaints apart from pain. 69 % had a comorbid psychological disorder. The health-related physical and psychological quality of life was clearly impaired in patients with "small", "substantial" and "pronounced" somatization. Regression analysis explained 48 % of the variance of the body-related and 35 % of the variance of the psychological quality of life: Besides the extent of somatization, older age, duration of pain-associated hospitalizations and the subjective amount of occupational impairment proved to be important. With regard to the psychological (but not the somatic) health-related quality of life, the presence of a current comorbid psychological disorder was also relevant., Conclusion: Patients with pain-dominated somatoform disorders are substantially impaired in their quality of life. Because 31 % of the patients with such disorders have no additional comorbid psychic disorder and the existence of a comorbid psychic disorder impacts only the psychological domain of their health-related quality of life, the results appear to strongly support maintaining the diagnostic category of somatoform disorders in ICD-11 and DSM-V. They also support the grading of the severity of the somatization similar to the grading of depressive disorders.

The Symptom-Checklist-27 (SCL-27) forms a modification of the widely used Symptom-Checklist-90-R, with the latter demonstrating considerable shortcomings in psychometric properties. The SCL-27 is designed to screen for psychiatric symptoms in patients presenting somatic complaints. It contains the six subscales depressive, dysthymic, vegetative, agoraphobic, sociophobic symptoms and symptoms of mistrust. Additionally, a global severity index (GSI-27), similar to the GSI in the SCL-90-R is available. The subscales are short, the number of items varies between four and six. Psychometric properties and reference values based on a representative German sample of more than 2000 subjects are presented for the various subscales. All subscales show sufficient internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha > or = 0.70 and for the GSI-27 alpha is = 0.93. The correlation between GSI-27 and GSI is r = 0.93. Sex-specific cut-offs are presented to identify those patients, who need further examination.