Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Yale–Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale—Second Edition

Storch, Eric A.
Rasmussen, Steven A.
Price, Lawrence H.
Larson, Michael J.
Murphy, Tanya K.
Goodman, Wayne K.

¹Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of South Florida
²Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University
³Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University
⁴Department of Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, NY

Eric A. Storch, Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, 800 6th Street South, Box 7523, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 [email protected]

Submission March 25, 2009. Revision September 1, 2009. Accepted November 9, 2009.

Psychological Assessment 22(2):p 223-232, June 2010.

The Yale–Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS; ) is acknowledged as the gold standard measure of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom severity. A number of areas where the Y-BOCS may benefit from revision have emerged in past psychometric studies of the Severity Scale and Symptom Checklist. Therefore, we created the Yale–Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale—Second Edition (Y-BOCS–II) by revising the Severity Scale item content and scoring framework, integrating avoidance into the scoring of Severity Scale items, and modifying the Symptom Checklist content and format. One hundred thirty treatment-seeking adults with OCD completed a battery of measures assessing OCD symptom severity and typology and depressive and anxious symptomology. Interrater and test–retest reliability were assessed on a subsample of participants. The Y-BOCS–II showed strong internal consistency for the Symptom Checklist (Kuder–Richardson-20 = .91) and Severity Scale (α = .89). Test–retest and interrater reliabilities were both high (intraclass correlations > .85). Confirmatory factor analyses did not show adequate fit with previous models of the Y-BOCS. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution generally consistent with the Obsession and Compulsion Severity subscales. Construct validity was supported by strong correlations with clinician-rated measures of OCD symptom severity and moderate correlations with measures of worry and depressive symptoms. Taken together, the Y-BOCS–II has excellent psychometric properties in assessing the presence and severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Although the Y-BOCS remains a reliable and valid measure, the Y-BOCS–II may provide an alternative method of assessing symptom presence and severity.