biostudies-literatureUnknown13(1)Zhu Y<h4>Background</h4>The Symptom Checklist (SCL) developed by the Health Behaviour in School‑aged Children (HBSC) study is widely used to capture the psychosomatic complaints (PSC) of non-clinical children and adolescents. Although its psychometric properties have been well established internationally, the performance of the Mandarin Chinese version remains unclear. This study evaluates the Mandarin Chinese HBSC-SCL's psychometric properties, develops its norm, and creates the corresponding scoring algorithm.<h4>Methods</h4>Data were collected from a two-wave cross-sectional survey conducted between June 20 and July 11, 2022, across eight Chinese Human Geography Regions (CHGRs). The sample included 3290 junior secondary school students, obtained through convenience sampling (first wave) and BMC psychology100https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11796065biostudies-literatureUsing the HBSC Symptom Checklist to measure junior secondary school students' psychosomatic complaints in the Chinese Mainland: Rasch-based validation, population-based norm, and norm-referenced scoring algorithm.PMC11796065Lou PJeffrey RShi MZhang KGuo XWang CZhang HWu BYue MZhang MHuang LWu DWen RHuang QWang JYue CWang MQiu ZChen ZWang SCong XChen YWang XCui CWang YXu LHe CYang JLi JChen KLi CTan HHe JLiao XYang NChen LXu DLi RChen HZhong YSun XCosma ALi MYang XPROSQoL-JSSS research groupLi SHe ZYuan BXu XFu RZhu YJing LMao QZhao WJiang SJiang TCai HYu HZhao XZheng HWei FQu XShao QBazang KZhu HZhu GNing JZhou YGuan MKha AZhang ZTao YZhang XHuang XMiao XShi FZhu XfalseUsing the HBSC Symptom Checklist to measure junior secondary school students' psychosomatic complaints in the Chinese Mainland: Rasch-based validation, population-based norm, and norm-referenced scoring algorithm.<h4>Background</h4>The Symptom Checklist (SCL) developed by the Health Behaviour in School‑aged Children (HBSC) study is widely used to capture the psychosomatic complaints (PSC) of non-clinical children and adolescents. Although its psychometric properties have been well established internationally, the performance of the Mandarin Chinese version remains unclear. This study evaluates the Mandarin Chinese HBSC-SCL's psychometric properties, develops its norm, and creates the corresponding scoring algorithm.<h4>Methods</h4>Data were collected from a two-wave cross-sectional survey conducted between June 20 and July 11, 2022, across eight Chinese Human Geography Regions (CHGRs). The sample included 3290 junior secondary school students, obtained through convenience sampling (first wave) and 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Feb2025-04-04T07:26:23.771Z2025-04-04T07:26:23.771ZS-EPMC117960653991059610.1186/s40359-024-02136-3