Purpose of the Scale

The purpose of the scale is to assess psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia by specialized clinical doctors.

Scale Analysis

The [BPRS-16] scale was developed by Overall and Gorham in 1962 and is divided into 16 subscales (dimensions) that include symptom groups covering the full spectrum of psychopathology.

Scoring and Statistical Analysis

Each dimension is rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all ill) to 7 (extremely ill), based on the symptoms exhibited by the patient.

Validity

The validity of the scale was demonstrated using the criterion of the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale.

Reliability

The test-retest reliability was r=0.78, p<0.001.

References

Foreign Literature

Bell, M., Milstein, R., Beam-Goulet, J., Lysaker, P., & Cicchetti, D. (1992). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale: reliability, comparability, and predictive validity. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
Overall, J. E., & Gorham, D. R. (1962). The brief psychiatric rating scale. Psychological Reports, 10(3), 799-812.
Leucht, S., Kane, J. M., Kissling, W., Hamann, J., Etschel, E. V. A., & Engel, R. (2005). Clinical implications of brief psychiatric rating scale scores. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 187(4), 366-371.

Greek Literature

Tomaras, V. (1984). Clinical and Diagnostic Recognition of Psychopathology Cases in the General Population (Doctoral dissertation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), School of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine).