Kennedy V Axis assessment in an Italian outpatient and inpatient population [L'applicazione dell'Asse V di Kennedy a un campione clinico italiano]

Introduction. Kennedy Axis V or K Axis acts is an alternative tool to the DSM-IVTR Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale, that many researchers describe as a scale with poor inter-rater reliability and clinical utility. Unlike the GAF scale, K Axis provides a multidimensional and multiaxial approach to measure personal, social and interpersonal functioning in psychiatric outpatients and inpatients. In this study, we examined K Axis's inter-raters reliability by using it with an Italian clinical population. Methods. Clinicians used Kennedy Axis V to assess global functioning among 180 inpatients, in 9 psychiatric services in Lombardia and Piemonte. Patients were divided into 4 different diagnostic groups, according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. Results. Intraclass correlations between two independent raters's scores reveal high level of inter-rater reliability for all K Axis scales (0,633