title: The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. II. Validity.
abstract: The development design and reliability of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale have been described elsewhere. We focused on the validity of the Yale-Brown Scale and its sensitivity to change. Convergent and discriminant validity were examined in baseline ratings from three cohorts of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (N = 81). The total Yale-Brown Scale score was significantly correlated with two of three independent measures of obsessive-compulsive disorder and weakly correlated with measures of depression and of anxiety in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with minimal secondary depressive symptoms. Results from a previously reported placebo-controlled trial of fluvoxamine in 42 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed that the Yale-Brown Scale was sensitive to drug-induced changes and that reductions in Yale-Brown Scale scores specifically reflected improvement in obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms. Together, these studies indicate that the 10-item Yale-Brown Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom severity and that it is suitable as an outcome measure in drug trials of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven 06508.
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mazure
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Heninger
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Charney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D016666:Fluvoxamine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D010091:Oximes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D010091:Oximes; D016666:Fluvoxamine