Internal consistency and validity assessment of SCL-90-R for bariatric surgery candidates

Preoperative bariatric psychological evaluations often use both a clinical interview and psychometric testing. Given concerns regarding the psychometric properties of some measures, the present study explored the internal consistency reliability and validity of the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R) and has provided a preliminary set of norms for the instrument within a bariatric population. Although the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has included the SCL-90-R as a suggested measure for the assessment of personality and psychopathology, no known studies have reported on the reliability or validity of the SCL-90-R within bariatric samples.

The present study was completed at a large Midwestern medical center in the United States. SCL-90-R inventories were completed by 322 preoperative bariatric patients as a part of their psychological evaluation. Most patients were women (75.5%), with a mean age of 46.7 ± 10.8 years and a mean body mass index of 50.4 ± 10.9 kg/m(2).

The internal consistency coefficients for the 9 subscales were .76-.90. Convergent validity was demonstrated by scale correlations with the data gathered in the clinical interview.

Compared with other recently studied measures, including the Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic, the SCL-90-R demonstrated good internal consistency and preliminary validity data for bariatric patients. Providers might want to consider the SCL-90-R as a screening measure for bariatric surgery patients.