USE OF THE BRIEF PSYCHIATRIC RATING-SCALE TO MEASURE SUCCESS IN A PSYCHOSOCIAL DAY PROGRAM

This study contrasted six subscales of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Sc ale (BPRS) to determine their sensitivity to psychosocial treatment ou tcome. An expanded version of the BPRS was administered to 216 clients on admission to a day program. The subscale measuring hostility and s uspiciousness discriminated at intake clients who were therapeutically discharged from clients who did not complete the program and predicte d discharge status after the investigators controlled for the effects of demographic variables. Significant reductions in scores were obtain ed on five subscales for a subset of clients to whom the BPRS was read ministered before discharge. The results support the use of the expand ed BPRS as an evaluative tool in psychosocial rehabilitation programs.