USE OF THE BRIEF SYMPTOM INVENTORY TO ASSESS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN 3 IMMIGRANT GROUPS

This paper examined the internal consistency reliability of two newly developed alternate language versions of the Brief Symptom Inventory ( BSI) (This is not the Bradford Somatic Inventory, which is also known as the BSI) when used with Polish and Filipino immigrants and the orig inal versions of the BSI and its parent instrument, the Symptom Checkl ist 90 (SCL-90) when used with Irish immigrants; and, the theoretical and criterion related validity of the Psychoticism subscale of the BSI for Polish, Filipino, and Irish immigrants. Internal consistency esti mates and triangulation of individual BSI global and subscale scores w ith verbal self-reports and clinical assessments demonstrated that the BSI is a relatively reliable and valid cross-cultural measure of psyc hological distress. However, problems with the Psychoticism subscale o ccurred across all three immigrant groups, which suggested that this s ubscale should be interpreted with caution when used with immigrants.