Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-18)
Psychology: Mental HealthReliability: alpha 0.855 sample items
About this scale
An 18-item clinician-rated measure of major psychiatric symptoms covering positive symptoms, negative symptoms, anxiety/depression, hostility, and disorganization.
Sample item(s)
“Somatic concern (0–7)”
“Anxiety”
“Hallucinations”
“Conceptual disorganization”
“Hostility”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.85. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Foundational psychiatric rating instrument.
Source & citation
Overall, J. E., & Gorham, D. R. (1962): The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychological Reports, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 799–812.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
Use it in your research
Need to check the reliability or psychometrics of this scale in your own data? Use the free DrAIStudio research tools:
Cronbach’s alpha calculator
All statistical calculators
Search the full Scale Atlas
Academic writing humanizer