Brief Assessments

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(1) What factors would lead one to administering the BSI and to use it as a possible screener for the administration of the NEO-PI-R and why?

The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI, Derogatis, 1993) is suited to assess the type and severity of self-reported symptoms (Groth-Marnat, 2003). According to Groth-Marnat, the BSI It is not a personality instrument, but is used to assess a client at the current level of a variety of symptom experienced over a one-week interval. Further, Marnat concludes that the BSI is reliable compared to other brief inventories such as the SCL-90-R the reliability for the BSI is similar to other self-reports such as the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R, Derogatis, 1994), which has consistently been good with Internal consistency reported within ranges from .79 for Paranoid ideation to a high of point .90 for depression. The BSI also has reported internal consistencies that range from. 71 for Psychoticism to .85 for depression. Validity for the BSI is supported by high correlations between the SCL-90-R and BSI dimensions that range from .92 psychoticism to a high of .92 for Paranoid ideation (Derogatis & Savitz, 1999 as cited in Groth-Marnat, 2003, pp. 583-585).

Thus, among the factors or reasons for administering the BSI as a screening device before administering the NE)-PI-R is to screen for psychological symptoms and the severity of those symptoms. The BSI not only assesses for psychological problems, the instrument has the capability to provide information to support decision making (www.suicidality.org). The BSI was reviewed as an appropriate instrument to be used in an Offender Services and Correction ...