Measuring regression in hospitalized medical patients: the BUMP scale

This article describes the construction and initial validation of a brief rating scale designed to measure behavioral regression or upset in hospitalized medical patients (the BUMP scale). The scale consists of 32 items representing various psychologic reactions to illness. Nurses completed questionnaires on 213 hospitalized patients. Corrected item-total score correlation coefficients averaged 0.53. Factor analysis revealed four factors measuring behavioral regression, poor patient--staff relations, depression/anxiety, and passivity/withdrawal. Alpha reliabilities revealed a high degree of internal consistency of scale items for total score and the four factor subscales. Cluster analysis revealed four clinically meaningful patient groups that were discussed in terms of various typologies in the literature. Potential uses of the BUMP scale and the need for further validating studies were discussed.