Reliability and validity of the Child Behavior Checklist Obsessive-Compulsive Scale

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (OCS) of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Participants included 48 youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 41 with a non-OCD internalizing disorder, and 101 with an externalizing disorder. Confirmatory factor analysis of the 8-item OCS did not result in an adequate fit. Exploratory factor analysis identified a 1-factor model consisting of 6 items. Adequate internal consistency for the revised OCS (OCS-R) was obtained, and convergent validity was supported by moderate relationships with other OCD indices. The OCS-R had stronger associations with measures of OCD symptoms than with measures of depression and externalizing behaviors. Youth with OCD had significantly higher OCS-R scores than those with internalizing and externalizing disorders. Suggestions for cutoff scores are provided using results from ROC analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that the OCS-R is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of pediatric OCD.