Reliability and validity of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale

Psychol Assess. 2005 Dec;17(4):486-91. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.17.4.486.

Abstract

To investigate the reliability and validity of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), 28 youth aged 6 to 17 years with Tourette's syndrome (TS) participated in the study. Data included clinician reports of tics and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) severity, parent reports of tics, internalizing and externalizing problems, and child reports of depression and anxiety. All children participated in a 2nd YGTSS administration by the same rater 48 days later. Good internal consistency and stability were found for the YGTSS scores. YGTSS scores demonstrated strong correlations with parent-rated tic severity (r = .58-.68). YGTSS scores were not significantly related to measures of clinician ratings of OCD severity (r = .01-.15), parent ratings of externalizing and internalizing behavior (r = -.07-.20), and child ratings of depression (r = .02-.26) and anxiety (r = -.06 -.28). Findings suggest that the YGTSS is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of pediatric TS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
  • Anxiety Disorders / psychology
  • Child
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control
  • Male
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / psychology
  • Psychometrics / methods*
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Tics / diagnosis*
  • Tics / psychology
  • Tourette Syndrome / diagnosis*
  • Tourette Syndrome / psychology