Brief Symptom Inventory
BSIPsychological Symptom Distress
53 items
1993
α 0.71–0.85
License required
Derogatis, L.R.
Clinical safeguarding note: Requires licence from Pearson. Global Severity Index (GSI = mean of all items) is the most commonly used single index. Nine subscale scores also available. Widely used as a pre-post outcome measure in psychotherapy trials. Contains suicidal ideation item — ensure appropriate safeguarding.
What it measures
A brief multidimensional measure of psychological distress across nine symptom dimensions plus three global indices (Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Distress Index, Positive Symptom Total). A shortened form of the SCL-90-R. Widely used as an outcome measure in psychotherapy research and clinical trials.
Response format
Likert (0–4, not at all to extremely) over the past 7 days
Representative items
- Faintness or dizziness. (Somatisation)
- Feeling blocked in getting things done. (Obsessive-Compulsive)
- Feeling easily annoyed or irritated. (Hostility)
- Feeling fearful. (Anxiety)
- Feeling lonely. (Depression)
This is a licensed instrument — representative items are shown for reference only. Obtain the original scale materials from the publisher before use in research.
Recommended companion scales
PHQ-9GAD-7SWLS
Citation
Derogatis, L.R. (1993). BSI Brief Symptom Inventory: Administration, scoring, and procedures manual (4th ed.). NCS Pearson.
Keywords
#symptomdistress#somatisation#OC#depression#anxiety#hostility#clinical#transdiagnostic