Development of the psychosomatic symptom scale (PSSS) and assessment of its reliability and validity in general hospital patients in China.

Objectives: To develop and verify the Psychosomatic Symptom Scale (PSSS) among psychosomatic patients and the cut-off value of PSSS in distinguishing psychosomatic patients from health controls.

Methods: The PSSS was drafted by an expert workgroup. 996 patients and 366 controls from 14 general hospitals in China were recruited to complete PSSS, Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90).