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Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Psychometric Properties of the Self-Report Version in a Student Sample

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychiatry, Landspítali-University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Ragnar P. Ólafsson

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Ívar Snorrason & Jakob Smári

  3. Division of Psychiatry, Landspítali–University Hospital, Hringbraut, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Ragnar P. Ólafsson

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  1. Ragnar P. Ólafsson
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  2. Ívar Snorrason
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  3. Jakob Smári
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Correspondence to Ragnar P. Ólafsson.

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Ólafsson, R.P., Snorrason, Í. & Smári, J. Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Psychometric Properties of the Self-Report Version in a Student Sample. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 32, 226–235 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-009-9146-0

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