The Psychometric Properties of the Outcome Rating Scale Used in Practice: A Narrative Review

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackground: The Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) is a measure frequently utilized in clinical practice settings to monitor client therapeutic progress and assess therapeutic outcomes. The ORS was designed to be used in clinical practice; therefore, demonstration of adequate reliability and evidence of validity with clinical populations is ideal. To our knowledge, there have been no reviews evaluating the overall adequacy of the psychometric properties of the ORS specific to its use with clinical populations.Purpose: The aim of this study was to review all available articles presenting information about the psychometric properties of the ORS to examine its usefulness with clinical populations.Methods: We completed an electronic literature search of several online databases in order to identify relevant articles. We identified 24 articles that met our inclusion criteria and analyzed the reliability and validity evidence for the ORS with clinical populations.Results: Findings showed moderately high to high internal consistency for the ORS and support for the ORS as a screening measure and monitoring tool for subjective symptoms of psychological distress. However, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of the ORS as a diagnostic tool or for assessing behavioral changes or outcomes.Discussion: Clinicians should be aware of the concurrent validity results indicating that the ORS may be best thought of as closer to a measure of quality of life as well as a potential screening tool for depressive symptoms. Future research efforts should focus on validation of the ORS with larger and more diverse clinical samples.