Psychometric attributes of the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale adapted in Bengali: A validation study in the Bengali-speaking population

Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by underlying obsessions and yielding/nonyielding compulsions, which often leads to significant levels of distress for the individual. Recently, obsessive-compulsive symptoms have been grouped into various symptom dimensions. The Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS) gives a comprehensive picture regarding symptom severity in each individual dimension of OCD, while also providing a global severity score. Aims and Objectives: The psychometric properties of the Bengali adaptation of DY-BOCS have been assessed in this study. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 80 individuals suffering from OCD as per the ICD-10 DCR criteria. The Bengali version of the DY-BOCS and other scales for OCD, anxiety, and depression were administered to all of them. Inter-rater reliability was assessed for 34 individuals, and agreement between self and clinician-rated version of DY-BOCS was studied for 60 individuals. Internal consistency for items in a particular dimension of DY-BOCS, convergent validity, and divergent validity were also assessed. Results: Internal consistency was found to be excellent (Cronbach’s α > 0.90 in all domains), and inter-rater reliability was found to be good to excellent for all the six dimensions of the DY-BOCS (intraclass correlation values >0.80 for aggressive and miscellaneous domains and >0.90 in all other domains). High correlation was found between self and clinician-rated versions of DY-BOCS for the age group 18–35 years, the highest correlations being found for the Contamination (r = 0.82) and Aggressive domains (r = 0.75), while it was found to decrease in the older age group. Convergent validity and divergent validity were found to be satisfactory. Conclusion: The psychometric attributes of the Bengali version of DY-BOCS appear to be satisfactory and thus can be reasonably administered to the population having Bengali as their mother tongue.