RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF A BRIEF PATIENT-REPORT INSTRUMENT FOR PSYCHIATRIC OUTCOME EVALUATION

Objective: The authors describe the Behavior and Symptom Identificatio n Scale (BASIS-32), a brief patient-report measure for psychiatric out come assessment, and present the measure's factor structure and reliab ility and validity data. Methods: Using the BASIS-32, interviews were conducted with a total of 387 patients shortly after their admission t o the adult in-patient services of a private not-for-profit psychiatri c hospital. Six months after admission, they received a follow-up ques tionnaire version of the instrument. Results: Factor analysis of the i nstrument yielded five factors, on which subscales were based: relatio n to self and others, daily living and role functioning, depression an d anxiety, impulsive and addictive behavior, and psychosis. Internal c onsistency of the subscales ranged from .63 to .80. Internal consisten cy of the full 32-item scale was .89. Test-retest reliability ranged f rom .65 to .81 for the five subscales. Concurrent and discriminant val idity analyses indicated that the BASIS-32 ratings successfully discri minated patients hospitalized six months after admission from those li ving in the community, patients working at follow-up from those not wo rking, and patients with particular diagnoses. Follow-up ratings indic ated that the BASIS-32 is sensitive to changes in symptomatology and f unctioning. Conclusions: The BASIS-32 provides a brief, standardized a ssessment of symptoms and problems from the patient's perspective. The instrument can be used for outcome assessment with most psychiatric i npatients.