Spanish adaptation of the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale

Abstract

Background: The Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS) is a promising new instrument that allows patient and clinician ratings of dimension-specific symptom severity, as well as estimates of global symptom severity in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The goal of this study was to further explore the psychometric properties of the DY-BOCS in a Spanish sample.

Methods: The internal consistency, reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the Spanish adaptation of the DY-BOCS were assessed in a sample of 51 Spanish adult patients with OCD.

Results: All the subscales of the Spanish DY-BOCS showed high internal consistency. The interrater reliability was excellent for all component scores, and the level of agreement between self-report and expert ratings was high for most symptom dimensions. The subscales of the DY-BOCS were largely independent from one another and from global OCD severity. The convergent and divergent validities of the DY-BOCS subscales were adequate.

Conclusions: The Spanish version of the DY-BOCS is a reliable and valid clinical tool for the assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions.