| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Description | The Twenty-Two Item Screening Score (Langner, 1962) is a screener designed to assess psychiatric symptoms indicating impairment. This tool aims to determine where individuals lie on a continuum of life functioning impairment due to common psychiatric disorders. It is often used in mass surveys to identify potential candidates for further examination. The symptoms included in the score were selected based on their relevance to common psychiatric complaints and their face validity. The final 22 items, drawn primarily from the MMPI and Neuropsychiatric Screening Adjunct, effectively distinguished between a “known well” group (selected by a psychiatrist’s interview) and a “known ill” group (comprising psychiatric patients). These items demonstrate significant discriminatory power, with correlations ranging from .41 to .79, showing a strong relationship between symptom presence and impairment ratings by psychiatrists. |
| Author | Langner, Thomas S. |
| Purpose | To screen for psychiatric symptoms that indicate impairment in functioning due to common psychiatric disorders. |
| Construct | Psychiatric Impairment |
| Instrument Type | Screener |
| Test Format | The Twenty-Two Item Screening Score consists of 22 items. Responses include Yes, No, Don’t Know, No Answer, and some items offer other options like High to Very Low, Often to Never, Poor to Too Good, and Never to More than a Few Times. |
| Test Items Available | No, please contact the publisher for further information. |
| Reliability | No reliability indicated |
| Validity | The 22 items effectively discriminate between the ill and well groups at the .01 confidence level or better. Correlations with psychiatrists’ impairment ratings range from .41 to .79, suggesting solid construct validity. |
| Factor Analysis | No factor analysis indicated |
| Test Methodology | No specific reliability or validity tests available |
| Classification | Mental Health/Illness Related Assessment |
| Age Group | Adulthood (18 years & older); Young Adulthood (18-29 years); Thirties (30-39 years); Middle Age (40-64 years) |
| Population Group | Human; Outpatient |
| Population Details | Sample: Psychiatric Outpatients; Psychiatric Ex-Patients; Non-Patients; Location: United States |
| Keywords | Psychiatric Impairment; Test Development; Twenty-Two Item Screening Score; Psychometric Properties |
| Index Terms | Psychiatric Symptoms; Psychopathology; Test Construction; Test Validity |
| Reference | Langner, T. S. (1962). A twenty-two item screening score of psychiatric symptoms indicating impairment. Journal of Health & Human Behavior, 3(4), 269–276. https://doi.org/10.2307/2948599 |
Cite this article
Mohammed looti (2026). Twenty-Two Item Screening Score. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/twenty-two-item-screening-score/
Mohammed looti. "Twenty-Two Item Screening Score." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 4 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/twenty-two-item-screening-score/.
Mohammed looti. "Twenty-Two Item Screening Score." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/twenty-two-item-screening-score/.
Mohammed looti (2026) 'Twenty-Two Item Screening Score', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/twenty-two-item-screening-score/.
[1] Mohammed looti, "Twenty-Two Item Screening Score," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.
Mohammed looti. Twenty-Two Item Screening Score. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.