Abstract
In the field of schizophrenia treatment and research, psychiatric symptom rating scales have served to evaluate and elucidate the value of antipsychotic medications and psychosocial interventions in treating this disorder. Useful scales have also been developed to assist in measuring side effects of medications, to assess areas of cognitive functioning, to evaluate quality of life, and to monitor medication treatment compliance. In this chapter, the following commonly used “gold standard” scales to assess important domains of schizophrenia are described: the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS), the Quality of Life Scale (QLS), the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS), the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI), and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). Additional important domains to assess are also discussed, and scales to evaluate these areas are recommended.
The authors posit that utilizing a combination of these useful assessment tools will allow for a thorough evaluation of patients with schizophrenia, which in turn can significantly improve clinical care and outcome.
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Gottlieb, J.D., Fan, X., Goff, D.C. (2009). Rating Scales in Schizophrenia. In: Baer, L., Blais, M.A. (eds) Handbook of Clinical Rating Scales and Assessment in Psychiatry and Mental Health. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-387-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-387-5_10
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