title: Validation of the Italian version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Second Edition (Y-BOCS-II) in a clinical sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is the most widely accepted measure of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom severity. Recently, the scale has been revised into a second edition (Y-BOCS-II) in order to improve its measurement properties. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Y-BOCS-II Severity Scale (SS) in a large clinical sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  The original version of the Y-BOCS-II was translated into Italian, which involved forward and back-translation procedures. The Italian Y-BOCS-II-SS was administered to one hundred twenty-five treatment-seeking adults with OCD, together with the original Y-BOCS-SS and a battery of self-report measures assessing OCD symptom severity and depressive and anxious symptomology. The factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity were investigated on the whole sample, while inter-rater and test-retest reliability were assessed on a subsample of participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Factor analyses revealed a two-factor structure different from those of the original scale, comprising (1) symptom severity; and (2) interference from symptoms. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability over a 2-week period and inter-rater reliability were satisfactory. The Y-BOCS-II-SS also showed excellent construct validity (and better than the Y-BOCS-SS), with good convergent and discriminant validity when assessed against other OCD symptom measures and measures of depression, anxiety and worry.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the Italian version of the Y-BOCS-II-SS retains the adequate psychometric properties of the original and that it can be confidently used as an assessment tool of OCD symptoms in both clinical and research settings.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology and Psychotherapy, Florence, Italy; University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: g.melli@ipsico.it.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Melli
authors.affiliation: Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapy Center, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Emiliano
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Avallone
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moulding
authors.affiliation: Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapy Center, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology and Psychotherapy, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Micheli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology and Psychotherapy, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carraresi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations