The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Interview Versus Self-report

Authors

Gail Steketee, Boston University
Randy Frost, Smith CollegeFollow
Karen Bogart, Smith College

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1996

Publication Title

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated the reliability and validity of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) conducted by trained interviewers. The present study examined several aspects of a self-report YBOCS version relative to the usual interview format in two non-clinical samples (ns = 46 and 70) and in a clinical OCD sample (n = 36) and a clinical non-OCD group (n = 10). The self-rated instrument showed excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability, performing somewhat better than the interview. There was good agreement between symptom checklist categories across the two versions, though clinical subjects reported more symptoms on the self-report form than on the interview. Some order effects were evident for non-clinical subjects only: those who received the self-report first scored lower on both self-report and interview than those who received the interview first. No order effects were observed in the clinical sample. The self-report version showed strong convergent validity with the interview, and discriminated well between OCD and non-OCD patients. Although more study is needed, particularly on clinical samples, these findings suggest that the self-report YBOCS may be a time-saving and less costly substitute for the interview format in assessing OCD symptoms.

Volume

34

Issue

8

First Page

675

Last Page

684

DOI

10.1016/0005-7967(96)00036-8

ISSN

00057967

Comments

Archived as published. Open access paper.

Recommended Citation

Steketee, Gail; Frost, Randy; and Bogart, Karen, "The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Interview Versus Self-report" (1996). Psychology: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/psy_facpubs/163