Psychometric study of the main clinical scales of the listado de síntomas breve (LSB-50) [short checklist of symptoms] in Argentinean adolescents

Abstract

This research aims at studying some psychometric properties of the Listado de Síntomas Breve (LSB-50) [Short Checklist of Symptoms] in Argentinean adolescents. The sample included 1003 adolescents (50.2% females, 49.8% males) aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.99, SD = 1.98). The LSB-50 is a 50-item scale that assesses psychopathology using seven main clinical scales: Hypersensitivity, Obsessive-Compulsive, Anxiety, Hostility, Somatization, Depression, and Sleep disturbance. Analyses included the study of the associations among scales, second order confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency analyses by Cronbach's alphas, the exploration of sex differences in the clinical scales and their association with age, and within-subjects ANOVA to test differences among them. Correlations among clinical scales were all positive and mostly moderate. A hierarchical model that proposed that all scales loaded in one major factor was confirmed by a second-order confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha was adequate. Females scored significantly higher than males in the Obsessive-Compulsive scale, but the effect size showed that this difference had little relevance. Only Depression was significantly and positively associated with age but this relationship was extremely weak. Obsessive-Compulsive and Hostility were the scales with highest scores, and Anxiety and Somatization presented the lowest scores. These results show that the scale seems to be suitable to the local population. However, more evidence of validity and reliability should be sought.