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A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Brief Symptom Inventory

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International Journal of Stress Management

Abstract

A cross-cultural study of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was conducted with a sample of university students from India and Canada. The results indicated much higher rates of symptom reporting in the Indian sample. Canadian students also had higher reported symptom scales when compared to a similar size USA sample. A small sample of older respondents was also compared with a British sample. Examination of the structure of the BSI scale was investigated using a multidimensional scaling analysis. The Indian data had a somatization—paranoid ideation dimension and a psychoticism—interpersonal sensitivity dimension. With the Canadian sample, there was a hostility—phobic anxiety dimension along with a somatization—paranoid ideation dimension.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Canada

    David C. Watson

  2. Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Canada

    Birendra K. Sinha

Authors
  1. David C. Watson
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  2. Birendra K. Sinha
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Watson, D.C., Sinha, B.K. A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Brief Symptom Inventory. International Journal of Stress Management 6, 255–264 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021940321129

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021940321129

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