A Self-Rated Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

The Self-Rated Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an objective 35-item questionnaire that measures the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Scale construction employed both rational and empirical item-selection procedures and utilized the responses of 127 diagnosed obsessive-compulsive subjects. A cross-validation study that used 40 obsessive-compulsive subjects found high internal consistency and significant correlations between the new scale and two clinician-rated measures of OCD. Principal components analysis of the combined subject sample (167 obsessive-compulsive subjects) identified four orthogonal components: distressing thoughts, rituals, perfection, and fear of contamination. In conclusion, the Self-Rated Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder appears to be a comprehensive, easy-to-use, and psychometrically sound instrument for measuring severity of OCD.