A psychometric evaluation and cross-cultural validation of the 21 item Hopkins Symptom Checklist

Data relating to the standardisation of a short version of the 21 item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL 21) is presented. It confirms the presence of three factors, and provides group means and percentile scales that enable comparisons to be made between the scores of a non-clinical sample and those of two separate target groups that had been under stress. These comparisons give confidence that the rating scale is appropriate for the purpose for which it was used, and suggest that the HSCL 21 could be a useful tool for clinicians in Fiji to use as an adjunct to standard interviews in the assessment of the effects of trauma.