The Validity and Reliability of Brief Rating Scales for the Assessment of Symptoms and Functions in Patients with Psychosis

Objective：This study aimed to validate the Clinical Global Impression 5-factor (CGI-5 factor) scale and Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP), which are brief clinical global scales to assess the psychological symptoms and psychosocial functioning in patients with psychosis. Methods：The CGI-5 factor scale is composed of 5 items：CGI-Positive, Negative, Depressive, Excitement, and Cognitive. Concurrent validity and sensitivity to change were evaluated by comparing the CGI-5 factor scale with Positive and Negative syndrome Scale (PANSS) 5-dimension. Concurrent validity of PSP was compared with Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score and Psychosocial functioning (PSF) scales composed of selected items from Quality of Life Scale (QLS), Functional Analysis of Care Environments (FACE), and Social-Adaptive Functioning Evaluation (SAFE). A total of 63 inpatients were enrolled in this study. To evaluate inter-rater reliability, 20 patients were assessed by two investigators. Results：The correlations between the CGI-5 factor scale and PANSS were significant on admission (0.5070.86) were in moderate to substantial range. Conclusion：This study confirmed the validity and reliability of the CGI-5 factor scale and PSP. Given its simplicity and brevity, these can be used to evaluate global symptoms and psychosocial functioning of psychotic patients in routine clinical practice. (J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2007;46(5):492-498)