Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale: psychometric properties of the self-report version in a student sample

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of an Icelandic translation of the self-report version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS-SR). The Y-BOCS-SR was administered to a sample of 427 Icelandic university students along with another measure of OCD symptoms (OCI-R) and measures of general anxiety and worry (GAD-Q-IV and PSWQ). The internal consistency of the Y-BOCS-SR total severity score and its obsession and compulsion subscales was very good. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original two- factor structure of the severity dimensions but a three-factor model with obsession, compulsion and resistance/control factors fitted the data equally well. Five factors described best the latent structure of the symptom dimensions. Support was found for the convergent and divergent validity of the Y-BOCS-SR. The results indicate that the Y-BOCS-SR is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the severity of obsessions and compulsions in a student population.