The 9 Symptom Dimensions of SCL90Test Explained

The SCL-90's power as a psychological assessment tool lies in its multidimensional structure. Rather than simply indicating "distress" or "no distress," it paints a detailed picture across nine distinct symptom dimensions. Each dimension represents a cluster of related psychological symptoms that provide insight into specific aspects of mental health functioning. Understanding these dimensions helps you interpret your results more meaningfully and appreciate the comprehensive nature of what the SCL-90 measures.

Why Multidimensional Assessment Matters

Before diving into the individual dimensions, it's worth understanding why measuring multiple symptom clusters matters for mental health assessment.

Psychological distress rarely presents in neat, isolated categories. People experiencing depression often also have anxiety. Anxiety frequently manifests as physical symptoms. Interpersonal difficulties can trigger depressive symptoms. Mental health is complex and interconnected.

The nine-dimension structure acknowledges this complexity. By assessing multiple symptom clusters simultaneously, the SCL-90 can:

• Identify primary versus secondary symptom areas
• Reveal patterns of co-occurring symptoms
• Differentiate between similar-appearing conditions
• Provide targets for treatment planning
• Track which symptoms improve with treatment and which remain problematic

Each dimension is based on factor analysis of responses from thousands of people, meaning these nine clusters represent naturally occurring patterns of symptom co-occurrence rather than arbitrary categories.

Dimension 1: Somatization (SOM)

What Somatization Means

Somatization refers to the expression of psychological distress through physical symptoms. The term comes from "soma," meaning body, and reflects how our minds and bodies are intimately connected. When we experience psychological stress, anxiety, or emotional distress, it often manifests as physical sensations or symptoms.

The somatization dimension of the SCL-90 contains 12 items assessing distress arising from perceptions of bodily dysfunction. These symptoms span multiple body systems and include both specific complaints and general physical discomfort.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The somatization dimension includes items about:

Cardiovascular symptoms: Heart pounding or racing, chest pains

Respiratory symptoms: Trouble catching your breath, feeling short of breath

Gastrointestinal symptoms: Nausea or upset stomach, digestive discomfort

Musculoskeletal symptoms: Soreness in muscles, low back pain, aches in various body parts

Neurological symptoms: Headaches, dizziness or faintness, numbness or tingling

General discomfort: Feeling weak in parts of your body, heaviness in arms or legs

Clinical Significance

Elevated somatization scores can indicate several possibilities:

Psychological distress manifesting physically: This is extremely common. Anxiety particularly tends to produce physical symptoms like racing heart, shortness of breath, and muscle tension. Depression often causes fatigue, aches, and digestive issues. The physical symptoms are real, even though their origin is psychological. For a deeper understanding of what high somatization scores mean for your health, read our detailed guide on understanding somatization scores.

Somatoform disorders: In some cases, persistent physical symptoms without adequate medical explanation may suggest somatoform disorders like somatic symptom disorder or illness anxiety disorder (formerly hypochondriasis).

Medical conditions: It's crucial to remember that elevated somatization doesn't automatically mean symptoms are "all in your head." Some physical health conditions can elevate this dimension, and any persistent physical symptoms warrant medical evaluation.

Health anxiety: People who are highly focused on bodily sensations and worried about health may score higher on this dimension simply due to heightened body awareness.

Example Questions

While actual SCL-90 items are proprietary, questions in this dimension resemble:

• "Pains in heart or chest"
• "Nausea or upset stomach"
• "Trouble getting your breath"
• "Numbness or tingling in parts of your body"
• "Feeling weak in parts of your body"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Somatization frequently elevates alongside:

• Anxiety: Physical symptoms of anxiety are captured in both dimensions
• Depression: Physical manifestations of depression (fatigue, aches, digestive issues) affect this score
• Phobic Anxiety: Panic attacks involve intense physical symptoms

Dimension 2: Obsessive-Compulsive (O-C)

Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

The obsessive-compulsive dimension assesses thoughts, impulses, and behaviors that are persistent, unwanted, and difficult to control. This dimension includes 10 items covering both cognitive symptoms (obsessions) and behavioral symptoms (compulsions).

It's important to distinguish between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as a clinical diagnosis and obsessive-compulsive symptoms that many people experience occasionally. The SCL-90 measures the symptom dimension, not the disorder itself.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The obsessive-compulsive dimension includes items about:

Intrusive thoughts: Unwanted thoughts, words, or ideas that won't leave your mind; thoughts that are not your own

Compulsive behaviors: Having to repeat the same actions (checking, counting, washing); having to do things very slowly to ensure correctness

Cognitive difficulties: Trouble remembering things, difficulty making decisions, mind going blank

Perfectionism and doubt: Having to check and double-check what you do, difficulty completing tasks because of excessive concern about doing them perfectly

Clinical Significance

Elevated scores on this dimension may indicate:

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Particularly if scores are significantly elevated (T-score 70+) and symptoms include both obsessions and compulsions that consume considerable time and cause significant distress. To better understand what your scores mean in this dimension, explore our focused article on obsessive-compulsive symptom interpretation.

Generalized anxiety: Worry and rumination can elevate this dimension even without classic OCD symptoms.

Perfectionism: People with perfectionistic tendencies, whether productive or problematic, may score higher here.

Cognitive impacts of stress or depression: Both conditions can affect concentration, decision-making, and memory, which are assessed in this dimension.

Attention difficulties: ADHD or other attention problems sometimes elevate this dimension due to items about concentration and completing tasks.

Example Questions

Typical items in this dimension resemble:

• "Having to do things very slowly to insure correctness"
• "Trouble remembering things"
• "Worried about sloppiness or carelessness"
• "Feeling blocked in getting things done"
• "Having to check and double-check what you do"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms often co-occur with:

• Anxiety: Worry and rumination overlap with obsessive thoughts
• Depression: Concentration difficulties and indecisiveness appear in both
• Interpersonal Sensitivity: Excessive concern about others' judgments can feed obsessive thoughts

Dimension 3: Interpersonal Sensitivity (I-S)

Understanding Interpersonal Sensitivity

Interpersonal sensitivity refers to feelings of personal inadequacy and inferiority, particularly in comparison with others, as well as discomfort during interpersonal interactions. This dimension contains 9 items that assess how you feel about yourself in relation to others.

This dimension is particularly interesting because it bridges cognitive (how you think about yourself), emotional (how you feel in social situations), and behavioral (avoidance or discomfort in interactions) aspects of social functioning.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The interpersonal sensitivity dimension includes items about:

Feelings of inferiority: Feeling inferior to others, feeling that people are not sympathetic or understanding toward you

Social discomfort: Feeling uneasy when people are watching you, feeling uncomfortable about eating or drinking in public

Self-consciousness: Being very self-conscious with others, feeling critical of others

Sensitivity to criticism: Feeling easily hurt by criticism, feeling others don't understand you or are unfriendly

Social comparison: Feeling that you are somehow worse than others

Clinical Significance

Elevated scores on interpersonal sensitivity may indicate:

Social Anxiety Disorder: Particularly if discomfort in social situations is prominent and leads to avoidance. For a comprehensive analysis of what high interpersonal sensitivity scores reveal, see our detailed guide on interpersonal sensitivity interpretation.

Low self-esteem: Pervasive feelings of inadequacy and negative self-comparison often reflect poor self-esteem that may be addressed in therapy.

Depression: Interpersonal sensitivity often accompanies depression, as depression affects how we perceive ourselves and interpret others' behaviors.

Avoidant Personality Disorder: Very high scores combined with patterns of social avoidance might suggest this personality pattern.

Past relational trauma: People who have experienced rejection, bullying, criticism, or other interpersonal trauma often score higher on this dimension.

Cultural factors: In some cultures, modesty and self-effacement are valued, which might influence scores on this dimension.

Example Questions

Items in this dimension typically resemble:

• "Feeling inferior to others"
• "Feeling uneasy when people are watching or talking about you"
• "Feeling uncomfortable about eating or drinking in public places"
• "Your feelings being easily hurt"
• "Feeling that people are unfriendly or dislike you"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Interpersonal sensitivity commonly elevates with:

• Depression: Negative self-perception affects both dimensions
• Anxiety: Social anxiety involves both interpersonal sensitivity and general anxiety
• Paranoid Ideation: Feeling that others dislike you can shade into paranoid thinking in some cases

Dimension 4: Depression (DEP)

Understanding the Depression Dimension

The depression dimension is one of the most extensively researched and validated scales within the SCL-90. It contains 13 items covering a broad range of symptoms associated with clinical depression, from mood and motivation to energy and hopelessness.

This dimension assesses depressive syndrome rather than just sad mood. Depression as a clinical condition involves multiple symptom clusters that affect thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physical functioning.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The depression dimension includes items about:

Mood symptoms: Feeling blue, feeling no interest in things, feeling hopeless about the future

Motivation and energy: Feeling low in energy or slowed down, loss of sexual interest or pleasure

Cognitive symptoms: Thoughts of ending your life, poor appetite, crying easily, feeling trapped or caught

Self-perception: Feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of death or dying, feeling everything is an effort

Anhedonia: Loss of interest in activities that used to be pleasurable

Clinical Significance

Elevated depression scores may indicate:

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Particularly if scores are significantly elevated (T-score 70+) and symptoms have persisted for at least two weeks with impairment in functioning.

Persistent Depressive Disorder (formerly dysthymia): Chronic, lower-grade depression that lasts for years.

Adjustment disorder with depressed mood: Depressive symptoms that arise in response to specific stressors or life changes.

Bipolar disorder (depressive phase): Though the SCL-90 doesn't assess manic symptoms, people with bipolar disorder experiencing depressive episodes will show elevated depression scores.

Secondary depression: Depression that arises in response to other conditions like chronic pain, medical illness, or other mental health conditions.

CRITICAL SAFETY NOTE

If you endorsed items about thoughts of ending your life or thoughts of death at moderate to extreme levels, this requires immediate attention. Contact a mental health professional, crisis line, or emergency services immediately. These thoughts, even if they feel vague or aren't accompanied by specific plans, should always be taken seriously.

Crisis resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US): 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• International Association for Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

Example Questions

Depression dimension items resemble:

• "Feeling blue"
• "Feeling no interest in things"
• "Feeling hopeless about the future"
• "Thoughts of ending your life"
• "Feeling low in energy or slowed down"
• "Thoughts of death or dying"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Depression commonly co-occurs with:

• Anxiety: Anxious depression is extremely common—learn more about this relationship in our article on anxiety and depression indicators
• Somatization: Physical symptoms often accompany depression
• Interpersonal Sensitivity: Depression affects self-perception and social comfort
• Hostility: Depression sometimes manifests as irritability, particularly in men

Dimension 5: Anxiety (ANX)

Understanding the Anxiety Dimension

The anxiety dimension assesses general anxiety symptoms including nervousness, tension, panic, and fear, as well as cognitive and somatic manifestations of anxiety. This 10-item dimension captures both generalized anxiety and acute anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety exists on a spectrum from normal, adaptive responses to stress through generalized, excessive worry to acute panic episodes. The SCL-90 anxiety dimension can capture anxiety across this spectrum.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The anxiety dimension includes items about:

General anxiety symptoms: Nervousness or shakiness inside, feeling tense or keyed up, feeling fearful

Panic symptoms: Suddenly scared for no reason, spells of terror or panic, feeling so restless you couldn't sit still

Cognitive symptoms: Thoughts and images of a frightening nature, trouble concentrating

Physical symptoms: Trembling, heart pounding or racing (note overlap with somatization)

Clinical Significance

Elevated anxiety scores may indicate:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Characterized by excessive, difficult-to-control worry about multiple domains of life.

Panic Disorder: Particularly if panic-related items are highly endorsed.

Other anxiety disorders: Social anxiety, specific phobias, or other anxiety conditions can elevate this dimension.

Stress response: Acute or chronic stress often manifests as anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety secondary to other conditions: Medical conditions (hyperthyroidism, cardiac issues, etc.) or other mental health conditions can produce anxiety symptoms.

Substance use or withdrawal: Caffeine, stimulants, alcohol withdrawal, and other substances can cause anxiety.

Example Questions

Anxiety dimension items resemble:

• "Nervousness or shakiness inside"
• "Feeling tense or keyed up"
• "Spells of terror or panic"
• "Feeling so restless you couldn't sit still"
• "Suddenly scared for no reason"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Anxiety frequently co-occurs with:

• Depression: Anxious depression is one of the most common presentations
• Somatization: Anxiety produces extensive physical symptoms
• Phobic Anxiety: General anxiety and specific phobic anxiety often overlap
• Obsessive-Compulsive: Worry and rumination connect these dimensions

Dimension 6: Hostility (HOS)

Understanding the Hostility Dimension

The hostility dimension evaluates thoughts, feelings, and actions characteristic of anger, aggression, irritability, rage, and resentment. This 6-item dimension is the shortest of the nine dimensions but addresses an important aspect of emotional functioning.

Hostility on the SCL-90 doesn't necessarily indicate violence or dangerous behavior. It measures the full range of angry feelings from mild irritability to intense rage, along with associated impulses and behaviors.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The hostility dimension includes items about:

Irritability: Feeling easily annoyed or irritated, temper outbursts you cannot control

Aggressive impulses: Having urges to beat, injure, or harm someone; urges to break or smash things

Interpersonal anger: Getting into frequent arguments, shouting or throwing things

Internal experience of anger: Feeling angry, having thoughts of harming others

Clinical Significance

Elevated hostility scores may indicate:

Anger management problems: Difficulty controlling temper or managing angry feelings appropriately. To understand what elevated hostility scores mean and how to address them, read our comprehensive guide on understanding the hostility scale.

Irritable depression: Depression sometimes presents with irritability rather than sadness, particularly in men and adolescents.

Frustration with life circumstances: Chronic stress, feeling trapped in situations, or ongoing interpersonal conflicts can elevate hostility.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Characterized by recurrent behavioral outbursts representing a failure to control aggressive impulses.

Personality patterns: Some personality disorders, particularly Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorders, involve difficulty with anger regulation.

Substance use: Alcohol and some drugs can increase irritability and aggression.

Underlying anxiety or trauma: Sometimes anger serves as a defense against more vulnerable feelings like anxiety or fear.

Safety Considerations

If you endorsed items about urges to harm others at high levels and feel you might act on these urges, seek immediate professional help. While having angry thoughts is common and doesn't make you dangerous, concerns about loss of control warrant professional support.

Example Questions

Hostility dimension items resemble:

• "Feeling easily annoyed or irritated"
• "Temper outbursts that you could not control"
• "Having urges to beat, injure, or harm someone"
• "Having urges to break or smash things"
• "Getting into frequent arguments"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Hostility can co-occur with:

• Depression: Irritable depression is common
• Paranoid Ideation: Anger and suspiciousness sometimes occur together
• Anxiety: Frustration and overwhelm from anxiety can manifest as irritability

Dimension 7: Phobic Anxiety (PHOB)

Understanding Phobic Anxiety

Phobic anxiety refers to persistent, irrational fears of specific situations, places, objects, or activities that lead to avoidance behavior. This 7-item dimension assesses both the fear itself and associated avoidance, with particular emphasis on agoraphobic symptoms.

Phobic anxiety differs from general anxiety (captured in the anxiety dimension) in its specificity—fears are focused on particular triggers rather than being diffuse or generalized.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The phobic anxiety dimension includes items about:

Agoraphobic symptoms: Feeling afraid in open spaces or on the streets, feeling afraid to go out of your house alone, feeling afraid you will faint in public

Transportation fears: Feeling afraid to travel on buses, subways, or trains

Crowd anxiety: Feeling nervous when you are left alone, feeling afraid in crowds

General avoidance: Having to avoid certain things, places, or activities because they frighten you

Clinical Significance

Elevated phobic anxiety scores may indicate:

Agoraphobia: Particularly if items about fear of open spaces, public places, and leaving home are elevated. Agoraphobia often develops after panic attacks as people begin avoiding places where panic occurred.

Social Anxiety Disorder: Though more extensively captured by the Interpersonal Sensitivity dimension, some social anxiety symptoms appear here.

Specific Phobias: Fears of specific situations or objects (though many specific phobias like animal or blood phobias aren't directly assessed).

Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia: The combination of panic attacks (elevated anxiety dimension) and avoidance of situations (elevated phobic anxiety).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Trauma-related avoidance can elevate this dimension.

Example Questions

Phobic anxiety dimension items resemble:

• "Feeling afraid in open spaces or on the streets"
• "Having to avoid certain things, places, or activities because they frighten you"
• "Feeling afraid to travel on buses, subways, or trains"
• "Feeling nervous when you are left alone"
• "Feeling afraid you will faint in public"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Phobic anxiety often co-occurs with:

• Anxiety: General anxiety and specific phobic anxiety frequently overlap
• Interpersonal Sensitivity: Social fears connect these dimensions
• Depression: Chronic avoidance and restriction of activities can lead to depression

Dimension 8: Paranoid Ideation (PAR)

Understanding Paranoid Ideation

Paranoid ideation refers to disordered thinking characterized by suspicious, persecutory, grandiose, or fearful beliefs. This 6-item dimension assesses paranoid thinking ranging from mild suspiciousness and distrust to more severe delusional beliefs.

It's important to understand that paranoid ideation exists on a continuum. At lower levels, it might represent reasonable caution or responses to actual experiences of betrayal. At higher levels, it suggests significant distortion of reality requiring professional attention.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The paranoid ideation dimension includes items about:

Suspiciousness and distrust: Feeling that most people cannot be trusted, feeling that you are watched or talked about by others

External attribution: Feeling others are to blame for most of your troubles

Persecutory beliefs: Feeling that people will take advantage of you if you let them, believing people have something against you

Mind reading concerns: Feeling that others do not give you proper credit for your achievements (implies belief that others' internal states are knowable)

Clinical Significance

Elevated paranoid ideation scores may indicate:

Paranoid thinking patterns: A general stance of suspiciousness, hypervigilance to threat, and distrust of others' motives.

Paranoid Personality Disorder: Pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others' motives beginning in early adulthood (diagnosis requires clinical interview, not just elevated scores).

Psychotic disorders: In schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or psychotic depression, paranoid ideation may be prominent.

Response to actual experiences: Sometimes elevated scores reflect reality-based responses to betrayal, discrimination, persecution, or unsafe environments rather than distorted thinking.

Substance use: Stimulants (cocaine, methamphetamine, high-dose cannabis) can induce paranoid thinking.

Social anxiety: In milder elevations, paranoid ideation can reflect social anxiety (feeling watched, talked about) rather than true paranoia.

Example Questions

Paranoid ideation items resemble:

• "Feeling that most people cannot be trusted"
• "Feeling that you are watched or talked about by others"
• "Feeling others are to blame for most of your troubles"
• "Feeling that people will take advantage of you if you let them"
• "Feeling that people do not understand you or are unfriendly"

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Paranoid ideation can co-occur with:

• Psychoticism: More severe paranoid symptoms often accompany other psychotic features
• Hostility: Suspiciousness and anger sometimes occur together
• Interpersonal Sensitivity: Feeling criticized or disliked connects these dimensions

Dimension 9: Psychoticism (PSY)

Understanding Psychoticism

The psychoticism dimension represents a spectrum of symptoms from social alienation and isolation through to first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia. This 10-item dimension is the most heterogeneous, assessing both subclinical withdrawn lifestyle and more severe symptoms suggesting psychotic processes.

The name "psychoticism" can be misleading. Many people with elevated scores on this dimension are not psychotic in the clinical sense but rather experience social alienation, isolation, or schizoid lifestyle features.

Specific Symptoms Assessed

The psychoticism dimension includes items about:

Social isolation: Feeling lonely even when you are with people, preferring to be alone, feeling lonely

Alienation: Feeling that you are never close to another person, feeling others do not understand you

Schizoid features: Feeling that something is wrong with your mind, the idea that something is wrong with your body

Psychotic symptoms: Never feeling close to another person, the idea that someone else can control your thoughts (thought control), hearing voices that other people do not hear

Withdrawal: Preferring to be alone rather than with others

Clinical Significance

Elevated psychoticism scores may indicate:

Social withdrawal and isolation: Many people with elevated scores experience loneliness and disconnection without psychotic symptoms.

Schizoid Personality Disorder: A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and restricted emotional expression (requires clinical diagnosis).

Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Characterized by acute discomfort with close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities.

Psychotic disorders: Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or other psychotic conditions if first-rank symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, thought control) are endorsed.

Severe depression with psychotic features: Depression can sometimes involve psychotic symptoms.

Social anxiety or autism spectrum: Sometimes social withdrawal reflects anxiety or neurodevelopmental differences rather than psychotic processes.

Example Questions

Psychoticism dimension items resemble:

• "Feeling lonely even when you are with people"
• "The idea that something is wrong with your mind"
• "Hearing voices that other people do not hear"
• "The idea that someone else can control your thoughts"
• "Never feeling close to another person"
• "Feeling that you are watched or talked about by others" (overlap with paranoid ideation)

Interconnections With Other Dimensions

Psychoticism can co-occur with:

• Paranoid Ideation: Severe symptoms often involve both dimensions
• Depression: Social withdrawal and hopelessness appear in both
• Interpersonal Sensitivity: Social discomfort connects these dimensions at lower elevations

How the Dimensions Interconnect

While we've discussed each dimension separately, real mental health experiences don't occur in isolation. The dimensions interact and influence each other in complex ways.

Common Patterns of Co-Elevation

Anxious Depression: Elevated anxiety and depression dimensions together represent one of the most common mental health presentations.

Anxious Somatization: Physical manifestations of anxiety elevate both dimensions.

Hostile Depression: Irritable depression shows elevated depression and hostility.

Paranoid Psychoticism: More severe thought disorder involves both dimensions.

Social Anxiety Cluster: Elevations in interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, and sometimes phobic anxiety reflect social anxiety concerns.

Cascade Effects

Sometimes elevations in one dimension lead to symptoms in others:

• Chronic anxiety (anxiety dimension) can lead to physical symptoms (somatization) and eventually depression
• Social difficulties (interpersonal sensitivity) can trigger mood problems (depression)
• Uncontrolled anger (hostility) can damage relationships (interpersonal sensitivity)
• Avoidance behaviors (phobic anxiety) can limit life and lead to depression

Using Patterns for Understanding

The pattern of elevations across dimensions provides richer information than any single score. A skilled clinician can use the profile to:

• Distinguish between similar-appearing conditions
• Identify primary versus secondary symptoms
• Understand symptom relationships
• Target interventions appropriately
• Predict treatment response

Conclusion

The nine dimensions of the SCL-90 represent decades of research into how psychological symptoms naturally cluster together. Each dimension offers a window into specific aspects of mental health functioning, from physical manifestations of distress (somatization) through cognitive patterns (obsessive-compulsive), social functioning (interpersonal sensitivity), mood states (depression, anxiety, hostility), specific fears (phobic anxiety), to more severe thought disturbances (paranoid ideation, psychoticism).

Understanding these dimensions helps you:

• Interpret your SCL-90 results more meaningfully
• Communicate more effectively with mental health professionals
• Recognize patterns in your symptoms
• Understand how different aspects of psychological functioning interact
• Appreciate the comprehensive nature of mental health assessment

Remember that the SCL-90 dimensions provide a map of symptom territory, not diagnostic labels. Elevated scores indicate areas warranting further exploration, not definitive conclusions about your mental health. Use this knowledge as a starting point for deeper self-understanding and, when appropriate, productive conversations with mental health professionals who can help you navigate whatever challenges you're facing.

Mental health is complex, multifaceted, and deeply personal. The SCL-90's nine dimensions honor that complexity while providing structure for understanding your experience. Whatever your scores reveal, they represent valuable information—an opportunity to better understand yourself and take informed steps toward enhanced wellbeing.