Development of the self-report version of the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the self-report version of the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD). The measure covers a 1-week time frame, and each of the nine criteria for BPD is rated on a five-point anchored rating scale of 0-4. Seventy-five subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for BPD were recruited from the community. The convergent validity of the interview and self-report versions of the ZAN-BPD was found to be high (with a median value of 0.70). In terms of reliability, the internal consistency of the nine criteria scores of the ZAN-BPD was found to be good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.84). In addition, 13 of 14 intraclass correlations for same-day test-retest reliability were in the excellent range (> 0.75). Finally, the sensitivity of both versions of the ZAN-BPD to change was assessed 7-10 days after they were first administered and found to be adequate (e.g. r = 0.66 for total score of ZAN-BPD). Taken together, the results of this study suggest that the self-report ZAN-BPD is a promising self-report scale for the assessment of change in the severity of borderline psychopathology over time.