Towards Psychosomatic Medicine: Psychometric Properties of the Polish Version of the Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-8) and the Prevalence of Somatic Symptoms in a Polish Community Sample

Abstract

The Giessen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-8) is an 8-item self-report measure of somatic symptoms. Originally developed in German and then validated in English, it was designed for measuring eight of the most frequently assessed somatic complaints in four categories (exhaustion, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular complaints). This study aimed to validate a Polish version of the GBB-8 and to examine the prevalence of somatic complaints in a Polish community sample. Our sample consisted of 846 Polish adults (545 females, 281 males and 20 non-binary) aged 18–77 (M = 27.42, SD = 12.67). The study was conducted from February to September 2022. The GBB-8’s factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis, whereas convergent and divergent validity were assessed via relationships with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Our results indicated strong factorial validity, conforming to the intended 4-factor model with a second-order factor. The GBB-8 subscales correlated in expected directions with markers of depression and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, the questionnaire showed good discriminant validity against these mental health symptoms. Internal consistency reliability was good for three subscales and the total score and it was satisfactory for the cardiovascular subscale. The test-retest reliability of the questionnaire was good. Overall, the Polish version of the GBB-8 has strong psychometric properties. We also examined the age, gender, and demographic differences. Specific age–gender relationships with somatic complaints were noted. We provided current group norms (sten scale) of somatic symptoms for females and males separately.