SYMPTOMS CHECKLIST INTERPRETIVE PROFILE
                                   (SCL)
_____________________________________________________________________________

Copyright 1999 by IMHN,  P.O. Box 578, Poway, CA 92074-0578




 The SCL is a 90-item, pencil and paper self-report measure intended
 to measure a spectrum of psychopathology of psychiatric and medical
 patients. Although it was primarily designed for use with adult
 patient population, it is also applicable with adolescents ages 13
 and above, but it should not be used with patients suffering from
 delusions or those for whom a self-report measure would be
 inappropriate. 

 This instrument has been used on patients with a variety of 
 disorders, ranging from substance abuse, alcoholism,  cancer and 
 heart patients, and sexual disorders.

 SCL is based on the SCL-90, which was developed by Derogatis, Lipman
 and Covi from the earlier Hopkins Symptom Check List, (Derogatis, L.
 R., Lipman, R. S., Rickels, K., Uhlenhuth, E. H. and Covi, L., The
 Hopkins Symptom Check List  (HSCL): A Self-Report Symptom Inventory,
 Behavioral Science, 19, 1-15, 1974). 

 The SCL is normally completed by the patient, but the rating could 
 also be performed by professionals, such as doctor, nurse, etc. All 
 symptoms are rated on a 5-point scale, and respondents rate the
 degree of their distress from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely).

 Average administration time is between 10 and 30 minutes, and it
 requires a fourth grade reading level proficiency. Administration
 can be conducted by variety of clinical staff, including technicians.
 The instrument is known for its wide applicability in clinical
 settings, high levels of internal  consistency, and good temporal
 stability.

 The SCL90 Interpretive Profile utilized by IMH-Network, Ltd. was
 written by Edwin Robins, M.D., and Maravin Stern, M.D., and
 copyrighted in 1986. The profile encompasses nine areas of clinical
 significance: somatization, obsessive-compulsive behaviors,
 interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic
 anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, and a set of critical
 items which flag the clinician about the most acute areas of
 disturbances where immediate clinical interventions may be needed.
 The primary purpose of this instrument is to measure an intensity
 of perceived distress and the number of symptoms.

 Applicability: Adults in psychiatric and nonpsychiatric outpatient
 settings. Utilization: At pretreatment & At least one post-treatment
 assessment. The total number of assessments is at the discretion
 of the clinician. Time span rated: present or within the last week.

 DATA CHARACTERISTICS:
    - baseline for treatment impact, effectiveness, outcome studies,
      analyses of resource utilization, patient population profiling,
      quality assurance;