Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1386-1388
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association
Field trial of the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale--Modified
DA Patterson and MS Lee
College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-3333, USA.
OBJECTIVE: A field trial of the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale--
Modified was conducted to test its construct validity. A slightly altered
form of the scale, the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment
Scale, was used in DSM-IV. METHOD: Social, occupational, and clinical data
on 196 subjects receiving outpatient mental health services were analyzed.
RESULTS: Six significant predictors were found that accounted for 51.75% of
the variation in scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning
Scale--Modified. Scores were independent of axis I, axis II, and
psychoactive substance dependence diagnoses from DSM-III-R. CONCLUSIONS:
The construct validity of the Global Assessment of Functioning
Scale--Modified and the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment
Scale is supported by these findings.
