Original Research Article
Year: 2021 | Month: June | Volume: 11 | Issue: 6 | Pages: 52-65
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20210609
Introducing the ‘Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire - 29’ (PSSQ-29): Reliability and Validity in an Epidemiological Sample of 1,158 Participants in Greece during the COVID-19 Domestic Lockdown
Georgios Pilafas1, Alexandra Prouzou1, Nefeli Paraskevi Strongylaki2, Despina Menti3, Georgios Lyrakos4
1MSc, MSc, Research Associate, CityU Research Center, Psychology Laboratory, City Unity College, Athens, Greece
2MSc, MBPsS, Research Associate, CityU Research Center, Psychology Laboratory, City Unity College, Athens, Greece
3PgDip, MSc, PhD, CPsychol, EuroPsy, Psychology Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan University at City Unity College, Athens, Greece
4MSc, MPH, PhD, PostDoc, ‘MSc Health Psychology’ Program Director, Department of Psychology, Cardiff Metropolitan University at City Unity College, Athens, Greece; and ‘Clinical Health Psychologist’, Psychiatric Department, General Hospital of Nikaia ‘Ayios Panteleimon’, Athens, Greece
Corresponding Author: Georgios Pilafas
ABSTRACT
Background: Although the field of psychosomatics is one of the oldest in behavioral health science, there may be a total absence of a self-reported psychometric scale that measures simultaneously mental and somatic symptoms. Thus, the present study introduces a new 29-item psychometric tool, named ‘Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire - 29’ (PSSQ-29).
Aim: PSSQ-29 was designed in order to provide a reliable and valid scale that measures both mental and somatic symptoms in a single questionnaire.
Methods & Materials: Research methods were employed and statistical analysis was performed to test ‘face validity’, ‘content validity’, ‘internal validity’, ‘construct validity’ and ‘predictive validity’ of PSSQ-29, while a ‘factor analysis’ also took place. The rest materials that were used in this study include the Greek versions of the ‘Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire’ and the ‘Acute Stress Disorder Scale’.
Results: The highlights of the analysis include a 95.5% reliability ratio, a strong correlation with ‘psychological resilience’ and ‘acute stress disorder’, while 59% of variance of PSSQ-29 was predicted by the levels of acute stress of the same sample at the same time.
Discussion: The findings of this study support the use of PSSQ-29 by health professionals and researchers in the foreseeable future. What is more, PSSQ-29 may provide much assistance in research regarding multi-morbid conditions in Behavioral Medicine.
Conclusion: Finally, PSSQ-29 was found both reliable and valid in the Greek population. Amongst many proposed ways of use, it is highly recommended to be used at any new ‘mass panic’ situation in Greece.
Key words: Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire; PSSQ-29; Psychometrics; COVID-19; Greece.