Measuring Illness Behavior in One Minute

Abstract

Abstract. The present study addresses shortcomings in previous psychometric research into the Scale for the Assessment of Illness Behavior (SAIB) and develops a short form, the SAIB-10. We used ant-colony optimization to construct a subset of items in an exploratory sample ( n = 1,187) and affirmed it in factor analysis in a confirmatory sample ( n = 1,208). We find excellent model fit and evidence for strict invariance across sex and age. As expected, there were associations with distressed personality, perceived social support, and mental health. Finally, we report normative values for usage by researchers and clinicians. In sum, the SAIB-10 is an economical measure of illness behavior and recommended as a screening tool or for large-scale surveys.