Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale-IBS

The Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale-IBS (GSRS-IBS) contains 13 self-report items rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (no discomfort at all) to 7 (very severe discomfort) [33]. Total scores range from 0 to 78. The GSRS-IBS has 5 subscales, including abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and satiety. Each dimension has demonstrated high internal consistency, with Cronbach α ranging from .74 (pain) to .85 (satiety). Furthermore, the GSRS- IBS has demonstrated both high test-retest reliability, with intraclass correlations among the factors ranging from 0.55 (pain) to 0.70 (bloating), as well as high construct validity [33]. Overall internal consistency was good in our sample with Cronbach α=.81. The GSRS has been used as a primary outcome measure in several recent RCTs of IBS treatments [9], and the Rome Foundation reports that it is shorter and more user-friendly than the IBS Severity Scoring System [34]. Qualitative score ranges are 0-20 (minimal or mild), 21-39 (moderate), and 40-78 (severe).