title: Defining clinical severity in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: Despite extensive use of the Children's Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CYBOCS; Scahill et al., 1997), the lack of normative data impedes interpretation of individual CYBOCS scores. Consequently, psychometrics on CYBOCS severity scores from 815 treatment-seeking youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are presented, across age and sex, so that normative comparisons of obsessive, compulsive, and combined obsessive-compulsive severity could be calculated. Our findings suggest no evidence for marked age or sex differences. Further, obsessive-compulsive symptom severity scores (measured via the CYBOCS) appear consistent with global OCD syndrome severity (measured via the Clinician Global Impression-Severity scale [CGI-S; Guy, 1976]; r = .58). This study contributes the 1st empirically based guidelines for interpreting obsessive-compulsive symptom severity scores. After a diagnosis of OCD is determined, the CYBOCS can be used to determine severity of illness (however, categories of severity proposed by this article should not be used in the screening of OCD symptoms). Findings can facilitate clinicians' and investigators' ability to draw comparisons across obsessive-compulsive severity scores.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida.
authors: Adam B
authors: AB
authors: Lewin
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Piacentini
authors: Department of Psychology, University of South Florida.
authors: Alessandro S
authors: AS
authors: De Nadai
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida.
authors: Anna M
authors: AM
authors: Jones
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles.
authors: Tara S
authors: TS
authors: Peris
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida.
authors: Gary R
authors: GR
authors: Geffken
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
authors: Daniel A
authors: DA
authors: Geller
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida.
authors: Joshua M
authors: JM
authors: Nadeau
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida.
authors: Tanya K
authors: TK
authors: Murphy
authors: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida.
authors: Eric A
authors: EA
authors: Storch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires