title: The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: factor analysis, construct validity, and suggestions for refinement.
abstract: The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is widely acknowledged as the gold standard measure of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom severity. Despite its popularity, a number of questions remain regarding the Y-BOCS' psychometric properties including: (a) whether obsessional and compulsive symptoms contribute independently to global OCD severity and (b) whether the Y-BOCS subscales are valid with respect to other measures of OCD. We examined these issues in a sample of 100 patients with a diagnosis of OCD. While our confirmatory factor analyses failed to reproduce any previously reported models of the Y-BOCS factor structure, exploratory factor analysis indicated a two-factor solution that assessed symptom severity (i.e., time, distress, and interference from obsessions and compulsions) as separate from resistance and control of obsessions and compulsions. In contrast to the Resistance/Control Subscale, the Severity Subscale demonstrated good psychometric properties and construct validity. Based on our findings we recommend revisions to scoring the Y-BOCS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Psychology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Brett J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Deacon
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abramowitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index