Contemporary psychology, Vol. 8 No. 2, 2005.
Professional paper
Psychosomatic symptoms questionnaire for children and adolescents
Anita Vulić-Prtorić
Abstract
The construction and validation of psychometric characteristics of the Psychosomatic symptoms questionnaire for children and adolescents (PSS) is presented. The metric indices were tested on a sample of 275 subjects, primary school students from 5th to 8th grade. PSS is a self-report instrument, consisting of a list of 35 symptoms (cardio-vascular, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, dermatological, pseudoneurological etc.) and 3 supplementary items establishing the health of the child. Each symptom is assessed with respect to frequency in the last three months and the degree to which the subject considers the symptom disruptive to everyday routines. Reliability of the PSS, expressed as a coefficient of internal consistency, equals: frequency scale a=0.895, disruption scale a=0.929. In view of the obtained results, it is concluded that the PSS can serve as a useful instrument for determining the number, frequency and intensity of psychosomatic smptoms in children and adolescents. Analysis of the results shows that the greatest number of subjects (around 60%) in this sample experienced 6 to 15 of the 35 symptoms in the last three months, most frequently tiredness, excessive sweating, headaches, colds and increased heart beat.
Keywords
Psychosomatic symptoms; children; adolescents
Hrčak ID:
3263
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2005.
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