The German version of the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS): Development and evaluation of its psychometric properties.

ABSTRACT

Lack of insight and delusional thinking are hallmarks of a series of psychological disorders such as psychotic disorders and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the German version of the clinician-administered Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS; Am J Psychiatry 1998;155e102-e108), which consists of 7 items assessing the degree of delusionality in the individual's disorder-related belief (e.g., "The person behind me is staring at me", "My nose looks disgusting"). Specifically, the original BABS was translated and back-translated according to established translation guidelines and administered in 70 individuals diagnosed with BDD. Internal consistency as well as convergent and divergent validity was high, suggesting that the German version of the BABS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess delusional thinking in psychological disorders such as BDD.