Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale

Overview
Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale – sometimes referred to as Y-BOCS – is a test to rate the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.

The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was designed newly from the ground up by Dr. Wayne Goodman and colleagues. It is used extensively in research and clinical practice to both determine severity of OCD and to monitor improvement during treatment. This scale, which measures obsessions separately from compulsions, specifically measures the severity of symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder without being biased towards the type of obsessions or compulsions present.

The scale is a clinician-rated, 10-item scale, each item rated from 0 (no symptoms) to 40 (extreme symptoms). The results can be interpreted as follows:


 * 0-7 Subclinical
 * 8-15 Mild
 * 16-23 Moderate
 * 24-31 Severe
 * 32-40 Extreme

Patients scoring in the mild range or higher should consider professional help in alleviating obsessive-compulsive symptoms.