The Analogical Symptom Assessment: validation study in a sample of patients in psychotherapy

Background: The aim of this study is to measure the concurrent validity of the Analogical Symptom Assessment test (ASA) (Baldoni, 2013), a multidimensional symptomatologic self-report questionnaire that evaluates the general state of health as perceived by the subject. Previous researches in non-clinical populations evidenced the good psychometric characteristics of this questionnaire, but this is the first study that assesses the validity of ASA in a clinical sample. Methods: The concurrent validity of ASA has been studied in a sample of 60 Italian patients (30 female and 30 males, aged 21-60) affected by different psychopathologic disorders and in treatment with dynamic psychotherapy conducted by three different therapists. For the diagnosis, DSM-5 and PDM-2 criteria were used. All the patients were given the following questionnaires: ASA, SQ, SCL-90R, IBQ, PDI and the DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting. Results: Spearman’s correlation coefficient, calculated to assess the criterion-related validity of ASA, evidenced significant and strong association (p < 0,05, r > 0,5) between ASA scales and other indicators of anxiety, depression, irritability, somatic symptoms, general hypochondria, obsessive compulsivity and psychoticism. Statistical analysis confirmed acceptable values of Cronbach’s alpha in male (α = 0.76) and female (α = 0.70) patients and in the total sample (α = 0.72). Conclusions: This study confirmed the good concurrent validity and internal reliability of ASA. This questionnaire permits a state measure, which can vary significantly because therapeutic interventions, and can be used as a thermometer of the general health state of the patients in clinical settings.