Global Assessment of Functioning
The Global Assessment of Functioning ( GAF for short ) is an assessment scale from clinical psychology and psychiatry. It is used to measure a person's general level of functioning. Physical illnesses and environmental conditions should explicitly not be taken into account. The mental, social and professional functions are thought of on a hypothetical continuum from mental health to illness.
The scale is used within the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and within Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics (OPD) . The period of assessment in OPD 2 refers to the last 7 days. The GAF scale was originally developed by the American Psychiatric Association in 1989 .
construction
The GAF scale is divided into 10 functional levels with 10 points each. It ranges from 100 (highest performance level) to 1 (lowest performance level).
The assessor must now provide a single value that most accurately reflects the patient's general level of functioning. Both the severity of the symptoms and the extent of the impairment should be taken into account. If the severity of symptoms and degree of impairment are in different categories of 10, the poorer level is selected. Example: The GAF value is below 20 for a person who is seriously at risk to themselves but is otherwise not impaired.
| Function in% | description |
|---|---|
| 100-91 | Excellent performance in a wide range of activities; Difficulties in life never seem to get out of hand; no symptoms. |
| 90-81 | No or minimal symptoms (e.g., slight fear of an exam), good performance in all areas, interested and involved in a wide range of activities, socially effective behavior, generally satisfied with life, common everyday problems or worries (E.g. only occasional quarrel with a family member). |
| 80-71 | If symptoms are present, these are temporary or expected reactions to psychosocial stress factors (e.g. difficulty concentrating after a family quarrel); at most slight impairment of social, professional and academic performance (e.g. staying behind at school for a while). |
| 70-61 | Some mild symptoms (e.g. depressed mood or mild insomnia) OR some mild social, professional, or academic difficulty (e.g. skipping school or household theft), but generally performing well; Existence of some important human relationships. |
| 60-51 | Moderately pronounced symptoms (e.g. flattening of affect, verbose language, occasional panic attacks) OR moderately pronounced difficulties with regard to social, professional or school performance (e.g. few friends, conflicts with work colleagues, schoolmates or caregivers). |
| 50-41 | Serious symptoms (e.g., suicidal ideation, severe obsessional rituals, frequent shoplifting) OR an impairment in social, professional and academic performance (e.g. no friends, inability to keep a job). |
| 40-31 | Some impairments in reality control or communication (e.g. language at times illogical, incomprehensible or inconsequential) OR severe impairment in several areas, e.g. B. Work or school, family relationships, judgment, thinking, or mood (e.g. a man with depression avoids friends, neglects his family, and is unable to work; a child will often beat younger children, be defiant at home, and fail at work the school). |
| 30-21 | The behavior is seriously influenced by delusions or hallucinations OR serious impairment of communication and judgment (e.g. sometimes incoherent, acting grossly inappropriately, excessive preoccupation with suicidal thoughts) OR inability to perform in almost all areas (e.g. staying in Bed, has no job, no home and no friends). |
| 20-11 | Danger to self and others (e.g. attempted suicide with no clear intention to die, often violent, manic arousal) OR is occasionally unable to maintain the slightest hygiene (e.g. smeared with feces) OR grossly impaired communication (largely incoherent or mute). |
| 10-1 | Constant risk of serious harm to yourself or others (e.g. repeated use of force) OR persistent inability to maintain minimal personal hygiene OR serious attempted suicide with clear intent to kill. |
| 0 | Insufficient information. |
rating
| Range of values | description |
|---|---|
| 100-91 | Optimal function in all areas |
| 90-81 | Good performance in all areas |
| 80-71 | At most, slight impairments |
| 70-61 | Slight impairment |
| 60-51 | Moderate disorder |
| 50-41 | Serious impairment |
| 40-31 | Severe impairment in several areas |
| 30-21 | Inability to perform in almost all areas |
| 20-11 | Danger to oneself and others |
| 10-1 | Constant danger or persistent incapacity |
| 0 | Insufficient information |
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Henning Saß u. a. (2003): Diagnostic Criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. DSM-IV-TR. Göttingen: Hogrefe, 47-49. ISBN 978-3-8017-1661-5 .
- ^ Working group OPD (ed.): Operationalized Psychodynamische Diagnostik OPD-2: the manual for diagnostics and therapy planning . Hans Huber, 2006, ISBN 978-3-456-84285-1 , p. 151 ( d-nb.info ).
- ↑ a b Sabine Schäfer: More and more often a good choice - license-free test procedure. Psychotherapy Aktuell 3/2010, pp. 12–16.