The Somatic Symptoms Experiences Questionnaire (SSEQ): A new self-report instrument for the assessment of psychological characteristics of patients with somatoform disorder

Annabel Herzog, Katharina Voigt, Björn Meyer, Winfried Rief, Peter Henningsen, Constanze Hausteiner-Wiehle, Bernd Löwe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Psychological symptoms of somatoform disorders will be part of their new definition in DSM-5. We developed the Somatic Symptoms Experiences Questionnaire (SSEQ) as a self-report questionnaire to assess important psychological characteristics of patients with somatoform disorders. Item selection and identification of factor structure, as well as reliability and validity have been checked in a sample of N=453 psychsomatic outpatients. Results of a principal components analysis with Promax-rotation suggested 4 factors (health worries, illness experience, difficulties in interaction with doctors, impact of illness). Validity analyses confirmed associations between the SSEQ-Scores and the physical disability of patients. Although further assessments of psychometric qualities are needed, the questionnaire appears to be well-suited for future assessment of relevant psychological features of somatoform disorders.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-121
Number of pages7
JournalPPmP Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie
Volume64
Issue number3-4
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2014

Keywords

  • classification
  • psychological characteristics
  • questionnaire
  • somatoform disorders
  • validity

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