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Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing

A | Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale

Psychiatric-Mental Health NursingA | Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is an assessment tool to be administered by a mental health professional who has been trained in its application. It is used in clinical treatment and in research. The scale ranks symptoms such as depression, anxiety, or psychosis on a scale of 1, if symptoms are not present, to 7, if symptoms are severe. The BPRS can be useful to determine baseline symptoms or treatment effect. There are different formats of the instrument; some with ranking by numbers and some with terms, such as mild, moderate, and severe. Items on the scale indicate interview as the assessment technique, though some are answered through rater observation. Family report may also provide assessment data.

A form used to assess the psychiatric status of a client. It assesses somatic concern, anxiety, emotional withdrawal, conceptual disorganization, guilt feelings, tension, mannerisms and posturing, grandiosity, depressive mood, hostility, suspiciousness, hallucinatory behavior, motor retardation, uncooperativeness, unusual thought content, blunted affect, excitement, and disorientation from 1 to 7.
Figure A1 The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale was first published in 1962 and revised in 1965. (credit: “Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale” by Overall and Gorham, Public Domain)
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