Factor structure of a brief symptom checklist for acute psychiatric inpatients

A 36-item symptom checklist (the HSCL-36) was assembled and assessed based on previous factor-analytic research with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-90 (HSCL-90), which had focused on outpatients. Acute psychiatric inpatients (N = 243) completed the HSCL-36 after admission to a university hospital. The responses were factor analyzed using a principal axis extraction. Varimax rotation yielded six interpretable factors, for which factor-based subscales were derived. Five of the six subscales were found to be reliable using coefficient alpha. Results are compared with studies that used self-report symptom checklists with outpatients. Future directions for research are discussed.