READABILITY OF SELF-REPORT CLINICAL OUTCOME MEASURES

Because the validity of data obtained from self-report clinical outcom e measures depends upon the ability of the client to comprehend the in ventories, readability was assessed for five frequently employed measu res: Beck Depression Inventory. Integra Outpatient Tracking Assessment . MOS 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. Social Adjustment Scale-Self R eport. and Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised. The Flesch Reading Ease (RE) formula and a Flesch abstraction formula were applied. The measures a re generally shown to be useful for patients with an eighth or ninth g rade education, suggesting that outcome researchers must choose only t hose measures appropriate to the educational background of their clien ts. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.