The Brief negative Symptom Scale (BNSS): a systematic review of measurement properties

Lucia Weigel; Sophia Wehr; Silvana Galderisi; Armida Mucci; John Davis; Giulia Maria Giordano; Stefan Leucht

doi:10.1038/s41537-023-00380-x

The Brief negative Symptom Scale (BNSS): a systematic review of measurement properties

Schizophrenia (Heidelb). 2023 Jul 27;9(1):45. doi: 10.1038/s41537-023-00380-x.

Authors

Lucia Weigel¹, Sophia Wehr¹, Silvana Galderisi², Armida Mucci², John Davis³, Giulia Maria Giordano², Stefan Leucht⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, School Of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
² Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Largo Madonna delle Grazie 1, 80138, Naples, Italy.
³ Psychiatric Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago (mc 912), 1601 W. Taylor St., Chicago, Il 60612, and Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, School Of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstrasse 22, 81675, Munich, Germany. stefan.leucht@tum.de.

Abstract

Background: Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are linked with poor functioning and quality of life. Therefore, appropriate measurement tools to assess negative symptoms are needed. The NIMH-MATRICS Consensus defined five domains for negative symptoms, which The Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) covers.

Methods: We used the COSMIN guidelines for systematic reviews to evaluate the quality of psychometric data of the BNSS scale as a Clinician-Rated Outcome Measure (ClinROM).

Results: The search strategy resulted in the inclusion of 17 articles. When using the risk of bias checklist, there was a generally good quality in reporting of structural validity and hypothesis testing. Internal consistency, reliability and cross-cultural validity were of poorer quality. ClinROM development and content validity showed inadequate results. According to the updated criteria of good measurement properties, structural validity, internal consistency and interrater reliability showed good results, while hypothesis testing showed poorer results. Cross-cultural validity and test-retest reliability were indeterminate. The updated GRADE approach resulted in a moderate grade.

Conclusions: We can potentially recommend the use of the BNSS as a concise tool to rate negative symptoms. Due to weaknesses in certain domains further validations are warranted.

Publication types

Review