YALE-BROWN
OBSESSIVE
COMPULSIVE SCALE (YBOCS)
Objective/Purpose
This rating scale is designed to rate the severity and type of symptoms
in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Defining obsession and compulsion to patient as
follows:
"OBSESSIONS are unwelcome and distressing ideas, thoughts, images
or impulses that repeatedly enter your mind. They may seem to occur
against your will. They may be repugnant to you, you may recognize
them as senseless, and they may not fit your personality."
"COMPULSIONS, on the other hand, are behaviours or acts that you
feel driven to perform although you may recognize them as senseless
or excessive. At times, you may try to resist doing them but this may
prove difficult. You may experience anxiety that does not diminish until
the behaviours is completed."
"Let me give you some examples of obsessions and compulsions."
"An example of an obsession is: the recurrent thought or impulse to
do serious physical harm to your children even though you never
would."
"An example of a compulsion is: the need to repeatedly check
appliances, water faucets, and the lock on the front door before you
can leave the house.
While most compulsions are observable behaviours, some are
unobservable mental acts, such as silent checking or having to recite
nonsense phrases to yourself each time you have a bad thought."
Who invented Yale – Brown obsessive
compulsive scale?
The Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was
developed in 1989 by Dr. Wayne K. Goodman, along with colleagues
Steven A. Rasmussen, Lawrence H. Price, and Carolyn Mazure, at Yale
University.
Influences Behind the Y-BOCS Development
The development of the Y-BOCS was primarily driven by the
professional experiences and research interests of its creators, rather
than personal experiences with OCD.

Dr. Wayne K. Goodman founded the Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorders Clinic at Yale University in 1985 and co-developed the
Y-BOCS to provide a reliable measure for assessing OCD severity

Dr. Steven A. Rasmussen focused on the course and treatment
of OCD, completing his residency in psychiatry at Yale University
and later joining the faculty at Brown University.

Dr. Carolyn M. Mazure is the director of Women's Health
Research at Yale, with research focusing on depression and the
relationship between stress and depression, particularly in
women.

Dr. Lawrence H. Price was a psychiatrist and researcher who
contributed to the development of the Y-BOCS, with research
interests including the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders.
Development of Y-BOCS
The Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was
developed in 1989 by researchers at Yale University School of
Medicine, specifically from the Department of Psychiatry.
Yale University: Location on the World Map
Yale University is located in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, in the
northeastern part of the United States.
Who the test is designed for?
1. Age norm: The Y–BOCS assessment is administered to adult
participants ages 18–85.
2. Versions:
 Y-BOCS: Designed for adults aged 18 years and older.
 Children’s Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (CYBOCS): Designed for children and adolescents aged 4 to
18 years.
Items of the test
It consists of 10 items, divided equally between obsessions (1 to 5)
and compulsions (6 to 10), each rated on a scale from 0 to 4. This
structure allows for evaluation of both the time consumed by OCD
symptoms and their impact on daily functioning.
The obsession items focus on:
1. Time occupied by obsessive thoughts
2. Interference due to obsessive thoughts
3. Distress associated with obsessive thoughts
4. Resistance against obsessions
5. Degree of control over obsessive thoughts
Similarly, the compulsion items assess:
1. Time spent performing compulsive behaviours
2. Interference due to compulsive behaviours
3. Distress if compulsions are prevented
4. Resistance against compulsions
5. Degree of control over compulsive behaviours
Scoring of the test

The scoring system of the Y-BOCS provides a total score ranging
from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater symptom
severity. Generally, scores are interpreted as follows:
– 0-7: Subclinical
– 8-15: Mild
– 16-23: Moderate
– 24-31: Severe
– 32-40: Extreme

Scores range from 0 points (no symptoms) to 4 points (extreme
symptoms)
the Y–BOCS consists of 10 statements, giving you 5 choices for each statement:
1. No symptoms
2. Few symptoms
3. Some symptoms
4. Many symptoms
5. Severe symptoms

Total score is calculated by summing items 1 to 10

Scoring range: 0–40
Score interpretation
There are 10 questions in the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y–
BOCS) calculator intended to interpret symptoms over the past seven days.
Each answer is awarded a point from 0 for the least intensity to 4 for the highest
severity, forming the total result at the end.
Two partial scores are given—one summing the scores of questions 1 to 5 (for
obsessions) and the second summing the scores from items 6 to 10 (for
compulsions).

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
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0–7: none
8–15: mild
16–23: moderate
24–31: severe
32–40: extreme
References
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Goodman, W. K., Price, L. H., Rasmussen, S. A., Mazure, C., Fleischmann, R. L.,
Hill, C. L., … & Charney, D. S. (1989). The Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale:
I. Development, use, and reliability. Archives of general psychiatry, 46(11), 10061011.
Storch, E. A., Benito, K., & Goodman, W. (2011). Assessment scales for obsessivecompulsive disorder. Neuropsychiatry, 1(3), 243-250
Storch, E. A., De Nadai, A. S., do Rosário, M. C., Shavitt, R. G., Torres, A. R.,
Ferrão, Y. A., … & Fontenelle, L. F. (2015). Defining clinical severity in adults with
obsessive–compulsive disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 63, 30-35.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/494743
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