580). The patient's individual test results can be compared with the results of the most appropriate normative group. The test is easily and quickly scored, given its multiple-choice format. Test reliability is judged as 'good' although the test data is descriptive rather than interpretive by nature. The SCL-90-R, in contrast to the Beck, is much more comprehensive and sweeping in nature. It measures a variety of complaints, rather than has the focused nature that is supposed to be the profile of a typical 'brief' assessment. The STAI State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is more typical of a 'brief' assessment in that it focuses on anxiety, and seeks to identify specific mental states associated with anxiety, such as generalized anxiety, anxiety specific to a situation, and depression that can be masked as anxiety (Groth-Marnat 2009, p.590).

The use of brief instruments points to a disturbing trend in healthcare, namely the predominance of cost concerns over accuracy of diagnosis and treatment. The design of instruments such...

Once a patient's condition is labeled as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder, it invariably prejudices the therapist to view the client in a specific fashion, and to focus on targeted symptoms in the inventory. Once upon a time, one of the canons of psychiatry was that every single individual patient is more complex than his or her diagnosis. The use of brief, symptom-specific inventories seems to deny this. On the other end of the brief assessment spectrum, the SCL-90-R is so diffuse in nature it provides only a bare-bone psychological 'sketch' that also seems of limited value, due to the wide range of conditions the test is supposed to describe. Ultimately brief assessments are likely to become more common in the future of psychiatry, given the current trend towards cost-cutting. But the trend is regrettable.
Reference

Groth-Marnat, Gary. (2009). Handbook of psychological assessment. Wiley.