Predictive utility, sex of rater differences, and interrater reliabilities of the NOSIE-30

Results suggest that the NOSIE-30 may have predictive utility. Twelve Token Economy patients rated by nine staff members were followed for 1 year. Patients discharged within a year after the NOSIE-30 was administered had higher scores on Social Competence, Personal Neatness, Total Positive Factors, Total Patient Assets and a lower score on Total Negative Factors than patients who remained hospitalized. Generally, there were higher interrater reliabilities on subscales for which behaviors could be observed easily, such as social competence, neatness, and irratability, and less agreement on subscales such as manifest psychosis and social interest. Sex differences found in the raters' perception of a patient behavior indicated that male raters tend to be more tolerant of a patient's negative behaviors. The NOSIE-30 can be a useful tool in staff training and in patient evaluation with a multidisciplinary approach.