ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1613331
Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Frequency, Intensity, and Burden of Side Effects Rating (FIBSER)
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai Huangpu Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
- 2Chong ming Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, shanghai, China
- 3The Third People's Hospital of Foshan, Guangdong, foshan, China
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Background: The Frequency, Intensity, and Burden of Side Effects Rating (FIBSER) Scale is a brief tool developed to assess side effects in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the FIBSER in Chinese patients with MDD. Methods: A total of 162 MDD patients were enrolled to assess the Chinese version of FIBSER, the self-report version of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (QIDS-SR16), and the Rating Scale for Side Effects (SERS). Reliability and validity were evaluated using Cronbach's α coefficient, test-retest reliability, Spearman correlation analysis, and Principal component analysis. Results: The Cronbach's α coefficient for the Chinese version of the FIBSER was 0.945. The test-retest reliability coefficients for the three domains were 0.799, 0.821, and 0.897, respectively. The correlation coefficients between FIBSER and SERS ranged from 0.765 to 0.817. The correlation coefficients with QIDS-SR16 ranged from 0.187 to 0.270. Principal component analysis found one significant principal component, highlighting the prominence of side effect frequency as a factor. The Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted values in the confirmatory factor analysis showed excellent convergent validity. Conclusions: The study suggests that the Chinese version of the FIBSER tool exhibits good reliability and validity in patients with MDD. It is suitable for the rapid clinical assessment of side effects in patients receiving antidepressant treatment.
Keywords: Depressive Disorder, side effects, Frequency, Intensity, Burden, rating scales
Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, JI, Cao, Ni and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jie Zhao, Shanghai Huangpu Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
Tongdan Cao, Shanghai Huangpu Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
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