ABSTRACT
In 1999, under a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, a major revision of the BASIS-32® was undertaken. The primary goal of the revision was to update the instrument and enhance its utility among heterogeneous groups of mental health and substance abuse service recipients. Specific steps taken to accomplish this goal focused on decreasing the reading level required by the instrument; increasing the reliability and validity of the measurement of psychotic symptoms, impulsivity, and substance abuse; reducing item redundancy; and including a broad range of mental health and substance abuse service consumers in qualitative and quantitative testing of the instrument. In addition, the instrument revision was guided by analysis of psychometric properties of the original BASIS-32®; review of existing mental health status or outcome measures; input from more than 50 mental health clinicians, researchers, administrators, and consumers; review of survey question design principles; and a preliminary readability assessment (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Butcher, 2000; Fowler, 1995; Maruish, 1999).
