Y-BOCS: Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale

About the survey

The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) measures the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. A trained clinician administers it as an interview. It is not a self-report screen or a diagnostic test. Goodman and colleagues developed the Y-BOCS.

A full administration has three parts: a symptom checklist, a list of target symptoms for obsessions, compulsions, and avoidance, and ten severity ratings. The checklist records whether each symptom is current or past, and it is not scored. At follow-up, the clinician can review the target symptoms and repeat the ten severity ratings.

Scoring and interpretation

Each severity item scores from 0 to 4, so the ten ratings produce a total from 0 to 40. The first five ratings form the obsessions subtotal and the last five form the compulsions subtotal, each from 0 to 20. The severity ratings cover the past week, including today.

The clinician interprets the total, both subtotals, the target symptoms, and change over time. A Y-BOCS score measures symptom burden after the clinical picture has been established. It does not diagnose OCD or explain why symptoms occur.

Considerations

The Original Y-BOCS and the Y-BOCS-II are different instruments. The Y-BOCS-II has different items and scoring, so its scores cannot be compared with or converted to Original Y-BOCS scores.

Compare results only when the same edition, scoring rules, and administration method were used.

Limitations

The score does not establish a diagnosis. It also does not replace a broader assessment of function, insight, risk, related conditions, or the meaning of a reported symptom.

Checklist completion depends on disclosure and clinician judgment. A person may not report every unwanted thought or ritual during one interview.