Reliability and validity of the Self-Report Symptom Inventory (SRSI) in youth: An experimental study of feigned and careless responding

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Self-Report Symptom Inventory (SRSI) in adolescents, aiming to determine whether the SRSI effectively distinguishes between valid and distorted symptom reports under different instructed response conditions. METHOD: = 19). Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and discriminative validity were analyzed. Exploratory analyses examined the impact of careless responding on SRSI scores and the utility of consistency items (i.e., positive health items) in differentiating between careless and feigned responding. RESULTS: = .93 and .88, respectively). Among careless responders, approximately 50% scored above the SRSI pseudosymptoms standard cutoff. Exploratory findings suggest that endorsement of multiple consistency items after failing the SRSI may reflect careless rather than feigned responding. CONCLUSIONS: ≥ .95) suggests that the cutoff may need to be raised in youth samples. Further validation in clinical populations is necessary before recommending its use in applied settings.