Test characteristics of the Hopkins Symptom Check List-25 (HSCL-25) in Sweden, using the Present State Examination (PSE-9) as a caseness criterion.

The Hopkins Symptom Check List-25 (HSCL-25) is a screening instrument designed to identify common psychiatric symptoms. It has been widely used in different settings outside Sweden and also compared to assessment of psychiatric illness made by general practitioners. The aim of the present study was to validate the HSCL-25 against a psychiatric interview using the Present State Examination (PSE-9) in a Swedish sample of patients in general practice. Validity coefficients of the HSCL-25 were calculated for two different thresholds of caseness, > or = 1.55 and > or = 1.75, respectively. When > or = 1.75 was chosen as a cutoff point, the validity coefficients obtained by the HSCL-25 in this study were comparable to those obtained in other studies.