BPRS
Also written as: BPRS — Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
A brief psychiatric rating scale used to assess the severity of psychotic and mood symptoms in clinical and research settings.
Full Definition
The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a standardized assessment tool developed to measure the severity of psychiatric symptoms, particularly in patients with psychotic disorders. Originally created by Overall and Gorham in 1962, the scale has undergone several revisions and typically contains 18-24 items rated on a 7-point scale from 'not present' to 'extremely severe.' The BPRS evaluates symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, depression, anxiety, and behavioral disturbance. It is widely used in clinical trials, routine clinical practice, and research to monitor treatment response and symptom changes over time. The scale requires trained clinicians for administration and takes approximately 15-25 minutes to complete. While less comprehensive than newer scales like the PANSS, the BPRS remains valuable for its brevity and established psychometric properties.
Usage
Usage note: Specify the version of BPRS being used (18-item vs 24-item) as they have different scoring ranges.
In Context
- "BPRS scores were collected weekly to monitor treatment response throughout the hospitalization." — Clinical research protocol
- "The patient's BPRS total score decreased from 65 to 32 after six weeks of antipsychotic treatment." — Treatment outcome summary