Reliability and Validity of the Urdu Version of Psychosomatic Symptoms Scale in Pakistani Patients

Abstract

The current study was aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Urdu version of the Psychosomatic Symptoms Scale (PSSS) in Pakistani patients. The PSSS is time-saving and easy to administer. The field experts drafted the translated version of PSSS. The Urdu version of PSSS, Patient Health Questionnaire- 9 (PHQ-9), and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) Urdu version were used for assessment. The translation procedure was comprised of three steps, namely forward translation, back translation, and expert panel discussion. A sample of 982 (men = 50.5% and women = 49.5%) was collected with a convenient sample technique from a general hospital and private clinic. The Cronbach’s alpha for PSSS was 0.974. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that all the items factor loading of PSSS were more than 0.35, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was = 0.062, the standardized root mean residual (SRMR) was = 0.043, and the comparative fit index (CFI) was = 0.97 with 90% CI. The results also showed that women (M = 72.08, SD = 6.79) are more likely to have psychosomatic symptoms than men (M = 51.21, SD = 13.36) on P < 0.001. The PSSS Urdu version is proven to be a useful and reliable instrument for screening, monitoring, and assessing Pakistani patients’ psychosomatics symptoms.