TheYale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive scale was developed by Wayne Goodman and his colleagues to rate the severity and types of symptoms that a client my have. It is important to note that the Y-BOCS is not intended to diagnose OCD but is used to rate the severity of symptoms and can be administered throughout therapy to track improvements made by the client. The Y-BOCS is administered as a semi-structured interview where the client responds to questions that are asked by the interviewer. The severity of the obsessive symptoms and compulsive symptoms are rated separately to give the practitioner an idea of what symptoms are most prominent. The semi-structured interview also allows the practitioner to ask the client any additional questions that they may feel will be helpful in treating the client. The Y-BOCS is considered to be a valid and reliable measure with strong internal consistency for the symptom checklist and severity scale. Scoring the test is straight forward and categorizes the clients score to having a mild case of OCD to an extreme case of OCD.
Y-BOCS
Instructions: Please complete the following questions‚ choosing only one number per item.
Scores should reflect the composite effect of all obsessive compulsive symptoms. Rate theaverage occurrence of each item during the prior week up to and including now by colouring inthe appropriate circle.
Your most frequent obsessions:
…………………………………………………………
Your most frequent compulsions:
…………………………………………………………..
Obsession Rating Scale
– Range of Severity –
1.Time spent on obsessions
0 hours/day
0-1 hours/day
1– 3hrs/day
3- 8hrs/day
8+ hrs/day
2.Interference from obsessions
None
Mild
Definite butmanageable
Substantialimpairment
Incapacitating
3.Distress from obsessions
None
Little
Moderate but manageable
Severe
Near constant‚ disabling
4.Resistance to obsessions
Always Resist
Much resistance
Some Resistance
Often yield
Completely yield
5.Control over obsessions
Complete control
Much control
Some control
Little control
No control
Compulsion Rating Scale
6.Time spent on Compulsions
0 hours/day
0-1 hours/day
1– 3hrs/day
3- 8hrs/day
8+ hrs/day
7.Interference from Compulsions
None
Mild
Definite butmanageable
Substantialimpairment
Incapacitating
8.Distress from Compulsions
None
Little
Moderate but manageable
Severe
Near constant‚ disabling
9.Resistance to Compulsions
Always Resist
Much resistance
Some Resistance
Often yield
Completely yield
10.Control over o Compulsions
Complete control
Much control
Some control
Little control
No control
Answer each question based on theaverage occurrenceof each item over thepast week. The first 5 questions relate to obsessive thoughts‚ the last 5 questions relate to compulsive behaviors.
1.How much of your time is occupied byobsessive thoughts? None Less than 1 hour per day 1-3 hours per day 3-8 hours per day More than 8 hours per day |
2.How much do yourobsessive thoughtsinterfere with functioning in your social‚ work‚ or other roles? None Slight interference‚ but no impairment Definite interference‚ but manageable Substantial interference Extreme interference‚ incapacitating |
3.How much distress do yourobsessive thoughtscause you? None Mild‚ not too disturbing Moderate‚ disturbing‚ but still manageable Severe‚ very disturbing Extreme‚ near constant and disabling distress |
4.How much of an effort do you make to resist theobsessive thoughts? Always make an effort to resist‚ or don’t even need to resist Try to resist most of the time Make some effort to resist Reluctantly yield to all obsessive thoughts Completely and willingly yield to all obsessions |
5.How much control do you have over yourobsessive thoughts? Complete control Much control‚ usually able to stop or divert obsessions with some effort and concentration Moderate control‚ sometimes able to stop or divert obsessions Little control‚ rarely successful in stopping or dismissing obsessions No control‚ rarely able to even momentarily alter obsessive thinking |
6.How much time do you spend performingcompulsive behaviors? None Less than 1 hour per day 1-3 hours per day 3-8 hours per day More than 8 hours per day |
7.How much do yourcompulsive behaviorsinterfere with functioning in your social‚ work‚ or other roles? None Slight interference‚ but no impairment Definite interference‚ but manageable Substantial interference Extreme interference‚ incapacitating |
8.How anxious would you become if you were prevented from performing yourcompulsive behaviors? No anxiety Only slightly anxious Some anxiety‚ but manageable Prominent and disturbing anxiety Extreme‚ incapacitating anxiety |
9.How much of an effort do you make to resist thecompulsions? Always make an effort to resist‚ or don’t even need to resist Try to resist most of the time Make some effort to resist Reluctantly yield to all obsessive compulsions Completely and willingly yield to all compulsions |
10.How much control do you have over yourobsessive compulsions? Complete control Much control‚ usually able to stop or divert obsessions with some effort and concentration Moderate control‚ sometimes able to stop or divert compulsive behavior Little control‚ rarely successful in stopping or dismissing compulsive behavior No control‚ rarely able to even momentarily alter compulsive behavior |
Sources
1.WK Goodman‚ LH Price‚ SA Rasmussen‚ et al.The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. I. Development‚ Use‚ and Reliability. 46 Arch. Gen. Psychiatry‚1006-1011. 1989.
2.MC Rosario-Campos‚ EC Miguel‚ et. al.The Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS): an instrument for assessing obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions. 11:5 Mol. Psychiatry‚ 495-504. May 2006.’
https://scales.arabpsychology.com/yale-brown-obsessive-compulsive-scale/
http://healthnet.umassmed.edu/mhealth/YBOCRatingScale.pdf
AGGRESSIVE OBSESSIONS
CONTAMINATION OBSESSIONS
SEXUAL OBSESSIONS
Hoarding / Saving Obsessions
OBSESSION WITH NEED FOR SYMMETRY OR EXACTNESS
MISCELLANEOUS OBSESSIONS
SOMATIC OBSESSIONS
CLEANING/WASHING COMPULSIONS
CHECKING COMPULSIONS
COUNTING COMPULSIONS
REPEATING COMPULSIONS
ORDERING / ARRANGING COMPULSIONS
HOARDING / COLLECTING COMPULSIONS
MISCELLANEOUS COMPULSIONS
