THE CALIFORNIA ADULT PERFORMANCE OUTCOME SURVEY - PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE ON RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

Recent legislation in California mandated the development of an outcom e measure suitable for measuring changes in quality of life associated with treatment in the public mental health system. The measure, known as the California Adult Performance Outcome Survey (CAPOS), relies on clinician and client reports of objective and subjective indicators o f quality of life. The present study sought to determine whether the c linician-administered CAPOS would agree with that administered by trai ned research assistants, and whether the CAPOS would agree with an est ablished quality of life measure. A sample of sixty-four severely ment ally ill subjects were assessed by their regular mental health provide r using the CAPOS. One week later they were assessed by a trained rese arch assistant using the CAPOS and Lehman's Quality of Life Interview (QOLI). For most outcome domains, the CAPOS exhibited moderate to exce llent agreement across occasions and raters. Correlations with the QOL I indicated a good degree of overlap among corresponding domains. Outc ome measurement procedures for routine use in clinical settings are in their infancy. The CAPOS appears promising in this role because of it s brevity, ease of administration, and adequate interrater reliability . The CAPOS affords state and local mental health authorities with an efficient means of tracking key quality of life indicators within the public mental health system.