SCL-90 Symptom Checklist

About the SCL-90

The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) is a self-report psychological instrument developed by Leonard Derogatis in 1973. It is one of the most widely used psychological assessment tools worldwide, designed to measure current psychological symptom status.

The SCL-90 is often referred to as the 'complete blood count' of psychological assessment because it provides a comprehensive screening across multiple dimensions of mental health.

Ten Symptom Dimensions

The SCL-90 measures ten primary symptom dimensions:

• Somatization: Distress arising from perceptions of bodily dysfunction
• Obsessive-Compulsive: Thoughts, impulses, and actions experienced as unremitting and irresistible
• Interpersonal Sensitivity: Feelings of personal inadequacy and inferiority
• Depression: Symptoms of dysphoric mood and affect
• Anxiety: Symptoms of nervousness, tension, and panic
• Hostility: Thoughts, feelings, or actions characteristic of anger
• Phobic Anxiety: Persistent fear response to specific people, places, or situations
• Paranoid Ideation: Suspiciousness, fear of loss of autonomy, delusions
• Psychoticism: Withdrawn, isolated lifestyle and symptoms of schizophrenia
• Additional Items: Basic physiological needs such as sleep and diet

Scoring and Interpretation

The SCL-90 produces several global indices:

• Total Score: Sum of all item scores (90-450 range)
• Global Severity Index (GSI): Average score across all 90 items, the best single indicator of current distress level
• Positive Symptom Total (PST): Number of items with non-zero scores, indicating breadth of symptoms
• Positive Symptom Distress Index (PSDI): Average score of positive items, indicating intensity of reported symptoms

Applications

• Clinical screening and initial assessment
• Treatment planning and progress monitoring
• Research on psychological symptoms
• Employee mental health screening
• Student psychological assessment

Tips for Taking the Test

• Answer based on how you have felt during the past 7 days
• There are no right or wrong answers - be honest with yourself
• Don't overthink each question - go with your first instinct
• Find a quiet environment to complete the test
• The test takes approximately 15-20 minutes

References

• Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S., & Covi, L. (1973). SCL-90: An outpatient psychiatric rating scale - preliminary report. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 9(1), 13-28.
• Derogatis, L. R., & Cleary, P. A. (1977). Factorial invariance across gender for the primary symptom dimensions of the SCL-90. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 16(4), 347-356. 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1977.tb00241.x
• Derogatis, L. R. (1983). SCL-90-R: Administration, scoring, and procedures manual-II for the revised version. Towson, MD: Clinical Psychometric Research.
• Holi, M. M., Sammallahti, P. R., & Aalberg, V. A. (1998). A Finnish validation study of the SCL-90. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 97(1), 42-46. 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1998.tb09961.x
• 王征。 (1984). 症状自评量表(SCL-90). 上海精神医学, 2, 68-70.