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Psychometric properties and validation of the English version Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-8)
Katja Petrowski1,2, Markus Zenger3,4, Bjarne Schmalbach5
1Department of Internal Medicine III, Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany. katja.petrowski@tu-dresden.de.
Background:
The present study investigated the psychometric properties of the newly developed English version of the Giessen Subjective Complaint List-8 (GBB-8), a questionnaire assessing psychosomatic symptoms with regard to exhaustion, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular.
Methods:
A U.S. sample of 638 participants (47.6% female) was recruited by MTurk to participate in this cross-sectional online survey. Validation instruments included the Patient Health Questionnaire-4, Perceived Stress Scale, short version of the Trier Inventory for Chronic Stress.
Results:
Reliability was high with ω's between .80 and .86 for all subscales. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded comparable good model fit for a four-dimensional model as well as a higher order model. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses confirmed measurement invariance of the GBB-8 across sex and age. Regarding convergent validity, correlations with other instruments were highly significant and of large magnitude as expected.
Conclusion:
The English version of the GBB-8 has shown excellent psychometric properties. Therefore, it can be recommended for the assessment of psychosomatic complaints in contexts where short screening instruments are necessary.
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