European Journal of Psychological Assessment © 2001 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers September 2001 Vol. 17, No. 3, 241-250 For personal use only--not for distribution doi: 10.1027//1015-5759.17.3.241 Articles Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the BSI Contributions to the Relationship Between Personality and Psychopathology M. Ángeles Ruipérez Department of Psychology, Jaume I University of Castelló, Spain M. Igancio Ibáñez Department of Psychology, Jaume I University of Castelló, Spain Esther Lorente Department of Psychology, Jaume I University of Castelló, Spain Micaela Moro Department of Psychology, Jaume I University of Castelló, Spain Generós Ortet Department of Psychology, Jaume I University of Castelló, Spain Summary: This study investigates in a nonclinical sample some aspects of the reliability and validity of the Spanish adaptation of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) as well as the relationship of personality dimensions and psychopathological symptoms. Factor analysis showed a six-factor structure: depression, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, obsession-compulsion, somatization, and hostility/aggressivity. Alpha reliabilities for the six BSI scales showed optimal indices (between 0.70 and 0.91). Furthermore, the relationships among BSI-extracted factors and extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), and psychoticism (P) scales of the EPQ-R were also studied. Phobic anxiety and somatization were related to N and P; hostility/aggressivity was related to N, P and E; obsession-compulsion was related to N, P and inversely to E. In conclusion, the Spanish version of the BSI is a reliable, valid, and rapid tool for the assessment of symptoms of depression, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, obsession-compulsion, somatization, and hostility/aggressivity in the nonclinical population. Keywords: Symptom assessment, psychopathology, personality, BSI, EPQ-R The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis 1975; Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983) is a very frequently used self-administered dimensional scale in mental health assessment (Switzer, Dew, & Bromet, 1999). This extensive use is probably due to its major