Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To conduct a multimethod psychometric evaluation to refine the Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI) and to investigate its dimensionality. METHOD: The CSI was administered to 876 pediatric patients with chronic abdominal pain at their initial visit to a pediatric gastroenterology clinic. Tools from three psychometric models identified items that most effectively measured the construct of somatization and examined its dimensionality. RESULTS: Eleven statistically weak items were identified and removed, creating a 24-item CSI (CSI-24). The CSI-24 showed good psychometrics according to the three measurement models and correlated .99 with the original CSI. The CSI-24 has one dominant general factor but is not strictly unidimensional. CONCLUSIONS: The CSI-24 is a reliable and psychometrically sound refinement of the original CSI. Findings are consistent with the view that somatization has a strong general factor that represents a continuum of symptom reporting, as well as minor components that represent specific symptom clusters in youth with chronic abdominal pain.
Source: Journal of Pediatric Psychology
Authors: L. S. Walker, J. E. Beck, J. Garber, W. Lambert
Institution: Vanderbilt University
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2098377267