A COMPREHENSIVE OUTCOME SCALE FOR OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRY

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project is related to NIMH research topic Assessment of Emotional and Psychological States. The goal is to develop a multidimensional, modular, self-report questionnaire that evaluates the course and outcome of psychiatric treatment. The Multidimensional Assessment of Symptoms and Psychosocial Functioning (MASP) is designed to assess symptom severity of the most commonly diagnosed DSM-IV Axis I disorders, as well as psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Items on the scale are based directly on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, and the scale is organized for immediate availability of information. The scale's modular structure lends itself to selective subscale administration for ongoing treatment outcome assessment. Phase I successfully attained the following goals: (1) demonstration of the understandability of the MASP?s items; (2) demonstration of the feasibility of using the MASP in clinical settings; (3) establishment of the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of all MASP subscales, (4) demonstration of the discriminant and convergent validity of the MASP subscales, (5) demonstration of the reliability and validity of the MASP items, and (6) support for the factor structure of the scale. The final, and most important, steps in the development of the MASP is to demonstrate that the instrument is sensitive to clinical change, and to establish MASP subscale scores corresponding to different severity ranges.