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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Validation of the German version of the insomnia severity index in adolescents, young adults and adult workers: results from three cross-sectional studies

Authors: Markus Gerber, Christin Lang, Sakari Lemola, Flora Colledge, Nadeem Kalak, Edith Holsboer-Trachsler, Uwe Pühse, Serge Brand

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

A variety of objective and subjective methods exist to assess insomnia. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was developed to provide a brief self-report instrument useful to assess people’s perception of sleep complaints. The ISI was developed in English, and has been translated into several languages including German. Surprisingly, the psychometric properties of the German version have not been evaluated, although the ISI is often used with German-speaking populations.

Methods

The psychometric properties of the ISI are tested in three independent samples: 1475 adolescents, 862 university students, and 533 police and emergency response service officers. In all three studies, participants provide information about insomnia (ISI), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and psychological functioning (diverse instruments). Descriptive statistics, gender differences, homogeneity and internal consistency, convergent validity, and factorial validity (including measurement invariance across genders) are examined in each sample.

Results

The findings show that the German version of the ISI has generally acceptable psychometric properties and sufficient concurrent validity. Confirmatory factor analyses show that a 1-factor solution achieves good model fit. Furthermore, measurement invariance across gender is supported in all three samples.

Conclusions

While the ISI has been widely used in German-speaking countries, this study is the first to provide empirical evidence that the German version of this instrument has good psychometric properties and satisfactory convergent and factorial validity across various age groups and both men and women. Thus, the German version of the ISI can be recommended as a brief screening measure in German-speaking populations.
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Metadata
Title
Validation of the German version of the insomnia severity index in adolescents, young adults and adult workers: results from three cross-sectional studies
Authors
Markus Gerber
Christin Lang
Sakari Lemola
Flora Colledge
Nadeem Kalak
Edith Holsboer-Trachsler
Uwe Pühse
Serge Brand
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0876-8

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