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BPRS (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale)

Persons having or suspected of having schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder manifest the disorder in multiple ways. The BPRS assesses the level of 18 symptom constructs such as hostility, suspiciousness, hallucination, and grandiosity. It is particularly useful in gauging the efficacy of treatment in patients who have moderate to severe psychoses.
It is based on the clinician's interview with the patient and observations of the patient's behavior over the previous 2-3 days. The patient's family can also provide the behavior report.
The rater enters a number for each symptom construct that ranges from 1 (not present) to 7 (extremely severe). The time necessary to complete the interview and scoring can be as little as 20-30 minutes.
Download BPRS Form (PDF)
Download BPRS Instructions (PDF)
More about Schizophrenia and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
  • Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: Making the Determination
    By Mohamed Fayek, MD, et. al.,
    Psychiatric Times 19(5), May 2002
    Deciding that a patient has treatment-resistant disease is a complex problem involving questions of adherence, whether the diagnosis is accurate, and confirming an adequate trial of antipsychotic medications.
    The authors include the BPRS as a means of determining whether there has been an adequate response to the medications and discuss various treatment strategies.
  • The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS): Recent Developments in Ascertainment and Scaling
    By John E. Overall, PhD and Donald R. Gorham, PhD,
    Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 24(1):97-99, 1988
    Although Overall and Gorham first published the BPRS in 1962 as a 16-construct tool, they added two additional items in 1965. The 18-item version is widely used today and this brief article recounts that history and appends a version of the 18-item BPRS.
  • The Semistructured BPRS Interview and Rating Guide
    By Howard M. Rhoades, PhD and John E. Overall, PhD,
    Psychopharmacology Bulletin 24(1):101-104, 1988
    In the same issue of the journal, Drs. Overall and Rhodes wrestle with the growing number of modifications to BPRS that had already emerged in its first 25 years of use and with more to come. The goals of other investigators altering the original scale included making the ratings more consistent over time, reducing differences between raters, and adapting it to other healthcare professionals such as psychiatric nurses.
    The authors, however, advocate "the conventional approach" to BPRS interviewing and rating and offer a series of 12 leading questions that clinicians can use to elicit responses to the 18 items covered by the scale.
  • Anchoring the BPRS: An Aid to Improved Reliability
    By Margaret G. Woerner, PhD, et. al,
    Psychopharmacology Bulletin 24(1): 112-117, 1988
    An example of just such a modification also appears in the same issue. Drs. Margaret Worerner, John M. Kane, and colleagues from Hillside Hospital and the New York State Psychiatric Institute present their version: the BPRS-Anchored or BPRS-A.
    Their modification expands or adds elaboration for many of the items and provides definitions ("anchors") and examples for scale points.
Jay M. Pomerantz, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School, Boston

A large number of psychiatric tests, scales, and forms have been created over the years to help in diagnosing mental illness and assisting in treatment and follow-up. This Web-based service offers copies of some of the most popular and useful instruments. The hope is that healthcare professionals—whether in specialty practices, primary-care settings, or emergency services—will find this format convenient and useful, allowing them to find the right instrument quickly, print it out for immediate use with patients, and add the findings to their records. Since most of the tools are designed for repeated use over time, they will provide not only a longitudinal view but also document the medical record.

In addition to the forms themselves, you will find instructions on how to administer and score the scales as well as related articles and links to other useful guidance. When appropriate, we will supply video resources for additional insights.

These scales have demonstrated high levels of accuracy and validity and the results can give important clues to possible mental disorders that warrant follow up. However, please remember that they depend on the skills of the clinicians administering them and the accuracy of the information provided by the patients.