The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 in screening DSM-III-R axis-I disorders

• Published in: Nordic journal of psychiatry Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 119 - 123
• Main Authors: Veijola, Juha, Jokelainen, Jari, Läksy, Kristian, Kantojärvi, Liisa, Kokkonen, Pirkko, Järvelin, Marjo-riitta, Joukamaa, Matti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Informa UK Ltd 2003; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Screening; Sensitivity and Specificity; Two-phase Study
• ISSN: 0803-9488; 1502-4725
• DOI: 10.1080/08039480310000941

Simple screening questionnaires for major psychiatric disorders are needed for epidemiological research and clinical work. We describe the characteristics of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) as a screening instrument in a two-phase epidemiological survey using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) as a diagnostic tool. The material consisted of 1609 subjects aged 31 years who were asked to participate in a health survey. The invitation included the HSCL-25 questionnaire. All "screen-positive" (HSCL-25 mean≥1.55) subjects and every tenth "screen-negative" subject were invited to participate in the SCID interview. The sensitivity of the HSCL-25 for any present DSM-III-R axis-I psychiatric disorder was 48%. The specificity was 87%. The sensitivity of cases with comorbid psychiatric disorders was 100%. The HSCL-25 is a moderate instrument for screening with present axis-I DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in a young adult population. It can be recommended for screening of psychiatric disorders.