ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2026
Psychometric evaluation and community norms of the Somatic Symptom Scale-8 based on a representative German sample.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Psychometric properties and population norms of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) based on a representative German sample.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) is a brief self-report instrument assessing somatic symptom burden derived from the PHQ-15. The aims of the present study were providing updated population norms for Germany based on a new representative sample and enabling a direct comparison with the original 2012 normative sample. In addition, the study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the SSS-8, evaluate construct validity, and test factorial validity and measurement invariance. Methods: A representative German community sample was surveyed in 2021 ( Results: Internal consistency was high (ω = .922, 95% CI [.915,.929]). The higher-order model (CFI = .979, TLI = .966, SRMR = .046; RMSEA = .091, 90% CI [.083,.099]) showed better fit than the unidimensional model (CFI = .961, TLI = .945, SRMR = .054; RMSEA = .115, 90% CI [.108,.123]). Strict invariance was supported for depression and anxiety. For gender, age, and gender × age, partial scalar invariance was established after freeing one item intercept (headaches). Latent correlations supported convergent and discriminant validity with depression (r = .81), anxiety (r = .76), well-being (r = -.67), and loneliness (r = .57). Each one-point increase in SSS-8 scores was associated with a 9.7% increase in doctor visits (IRR = 1.097, 95% CI [1.082, 1.112]). A cross-cohort comparison with the original normative sample (2012; Conclusions: The SSS-8 demonstrates good psychometric properties in a representative German community sample. Updated population norms are provided for clinical use. The observed increase in somatic symptom burden underscores the necessity of updating population norms at regular intervals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.