A study published in Psychiatry Research showed that the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was a valuable tool for assessing general and specific psychiatric symptoms across the diagnostic spectrum. The researchers evaluated data from 600 adult psychiatric patients who were equally divided into six diagnosis groups: personality disorders, schizophrenia, alcohol use disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder. BPRS along with mini-ICF-APP, which is another validated measure for assessing psychiatric illnesses were used and compared to the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI).

Researchers concluded that overall, there was good agreement and a moderate correlation between the BPRS and mini-ICF-APP. By employing the BPRS and the mini-ICF-APP, they identified different symptoms. A cluster of symptoms related to externalizing, internalizing, and thought disturbance domains were identified using the BPRS, while four others were identified using the mini-ICF-APP.

The BPRS is a popular and easily accessible psychometric measure. The study findings supported its usage as a transdiagnostic measuring tool for psychopathology. (Medscape - Aug 23, 2022.)