The SCL-90R evaluated as an alternative to the MMPI for psychological screening of chronic low-back pain patients.

The efficacy of using the SCL-90R as an alternative measure to the MMPI in the psychological screening of chronic low-back pain (CLBP) patients was investigated. The MMPI and the SCL-90R were administered to 99 CLBP patients (63 men and 36 women) at the time of admission to a functional restoration treatment program. The SCL-90R was readministered after successful completion of the treatment program. Analyses indicated that there were significant changes on almost all SCL-90R clinical scales from pretreatment to post-treatment (P less than 0.01). Moreover, there were adequate levels of correlation between corresponding MMPI and SCL-90R scales (r ranged from 0.35 to 0.51). However, analyses of the interscale correlations of the SCL-90R indicated that it may be a single-factor instrument that assesses general psychological distress. It was suggested that the SCL-90R may be used as a screening device for psychological distress in CLBP patients, but if more detailed information about the patients' psychological condition is needed, the MMPI will be a more useful instrument.