Measuring treatment outcome for adults and adolescents: reliability and validity of BASIS-32

This article examines the reliability and validity for adults and adolescents of Behavioral and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32), a 32-item patient-report instrument designed to facilitate psychiatric outcome assessment of adult inpatient populations. This study extends the original analysis of the psychometric properties of BASIS-32 to a different site, using a self-report rather than interview format and samples of both adult and adolescent patients. Responses to the BASIS-32 are reported for two groups of patients consecutively admitted between 1991 and 1994: adults over 18 years old (n = 462) and adolescents between 12 and 18 (n = 244). Results of this investigation confirm the utility of BASIS-32 as an easily administered and scored self-report outcome assessment tool for adult psychiatric patients. Its utility for adolescent patients was not as clearly demonstrated.