COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

DEPARTMENT OF
MENTAL HEALTH
Program Support Bureau
MHSA Implementation Unit
PEIOutcomes@dmh.lacounty.gov

YOQ Quick Guide

Youth Outcome Questionnaire 2.01

Completed by parent/care provider for ALL EBPs for children ages 4-17 years, during
the first and last EBP treatment sessions, and every 6 months for EBPs exceeding 6
months.

Intrapersonal Distress (ID)

Purpose
The YOQ is a brief yet
comprehensive instrument that
assesses parents perceptions
of a variety of areas in which
their child may be thriving for
struggling.
Because the YOQ is sensitive to
clinical change, it can be
administered at any time
during the course of treatment
to monitor progress.
Critical items may reveal
important information about
children and youth who may
need immediate intervention
beyond standard outpatient
treatment (e.g., #21: harm to
self; #28: paranoia; #38:
delusions, & #51: harm to
others).

Administration

Parents/care providers of
clients between the ages of 4
and 17 years complete the
YOQ.
Parents/care providers should
be encouraged to answer
every question as accurately
as possible.
Parents/care providers should
indicate how true each
statement is for his/her child
during the past 7 days.
The YOQ can be administered
by non-clinical or clinical staff,
but must be interpreted by a
trained clinician.

Revised: September 6, 2011

High scores ( 16) indicate parent/care provider is reporting his/her child

is experiencing a great deal of emotional distress (i.e., symptoms of
anxiety, depression, fearfulness, concerns regarding self-harm).

Somatic (S)

High scores ( 5) reflect a parent/care providers concern regarding the

number of physical and/or somatic concerns their child/youth display or
report (i.e., headache, stomach problems, bowel problems, dizziness, etc.).

Interpersonal Relations (IR)

High scores ( 4) indicate the parent/care provider reports the client

experiences considerable interpersonal difficulty with parents/care
providers, adults and/or peers (i.e., aggression, defiance, conflict).

Social Problems (SP)

High scores ( 3) suggest the child displays a number of behaviors that

violate social norms and/or expectations (e.g., delinquent or aggressive
behaviors, etc.).

Behavioral Dysfunction (BD)

High scores ( 12) indicate the parent/care provider reports the client is
experiencing difficulty with attention, concentration, managing impulsive
behaviors, organizing and completing tasks, and handling frustration.

Critical Items (CI)

High scores ( 5) indicate the parent identified one or more items that
require more immediate clinical follow-up, such as: paranoia, suicidal
ideation, hallucinations, delusions, etc.

Total Score

The total score reflects the parents/guardians perceptions of their

childs/youths overall mental health functioning.
Subscale

Scoring Information
Please review to make sure
parent/care provider has
answered every item. Using the
hand-scoring answer sheet, transfer
each item response to the
appropriate box in the far righthand column. Subtotal each
subscale on both sides of the sheet;
then add the two subtotals for each
subscale to derive subscale scores.
Add all six subscale scores for the
Total Score.

Clinically
Significant Score

Intrapersonal
Distress (ID)

16

Somatic (S)

Interpersonal
Relations (IR)
Social Problems
(SP)
Behavioral
Dysfunction (BD)

4
3
12

Critical Items (CI)

Total Score

46

Subscale scores can be used to identify

and target particularly problematic
areas for treatment planning.

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

YOQ-SR Quick Guide

DEPARTMENT OF
MENTAL HEALTH

Completed for ALL EBPs by youth ages 12-18, during the first and last EBP treatment
sessions, and every 6 months for EBPs exceeding 6 months.

Program Support Bureau

MHSA Implementation Unit
PEIOutcomes@dmh.lacounty.gov

Purpose

The YOQ-SR provides useful

information about the clients
functioning and concerns at
intake.
While subscale scores may be
useful in treatment planning,
individual item responses
provide useful clinical
information for follow up
during the early phase of
treatment (e.g., I have hurt
myself on purpose.).
Because the YOQ-SR is
sensitive to change over short
periods, it is useful for
monitoring the clients progress
at any time during the course
of treatment.
The YOQ-SR provides
information, from the clients
perspective, regarding the
clients symptoms at the end of
treatment and can be useful
when planning termination.

Administration
Clients between the ages of 12
and 18 years complete the
YOQ-SR.
Clients should answer every
question as accurately as
possible.
Clients should indicate how true
each statement is for him/her
during the past 7 days.
The YOQ-SR can be
administered by non-clinical or
clinical staff, but must be
interpreted by a trained
clinician.

Revised: September 6, 2011

Youth Outcome Questionnaire Self Report 2.0

Intrapersonal Distress (ID)

High scores ( 17) indicate client is experiencing substantial emotional
distress (e.g., depressed, anxious, fearful, etc.).
Somatic (S)
High scores ( 6) reflect client reports a high number of physical and/or
somatic concerns.
Low scores indicate a lack of awareness or lack of concern about physical
or somatic complaints.
Interpersonal Relations (IR)
High scores ( 3) indicate the client is reporting considerable interpersonal
difficulty (e.g., aggression, defiance, conflict).
Low scores indicate the client is reporting cooperative attitude/interactions.
Social Problems (SP)
High scores ( 3) identify the client is reporting engaging in behaviors or
activities, which violate social norms and/or expectations (e.g., substance
abuse, vandalism, sexual problems, etc.).
Low scores indicate the client does not reportedly experience significant
difficulty adhering to social expectations.
Behavioral Dysfunction (BD)
High scores ( 11) suggest the client is experiencing difficulty with attention,
concentration, managing impulsive behaviors, etc.
Low scores suggest the client is not experiencing difficulty managing his/her
behaviors and attention.
Critical Items (CI)
High scores indicate the client responded to items that may necessitate
clinical follow up, such as: paranoia, obsessive-compulsive behaviors,
hallucinations, delusions, suicide ideation, mania, and eating disorders
(serious attention should be paid to high score on any single item).
Total Score
The Total Score provides information about the clients functioning and/or
level of distress.

Subscale

Scoring Information
Using the hand-scoring answer
sheet, transfer each item
response to the appropriate box
in the far right-hand column. Subtotal each scale on both sides of
the sheet; then sum the two subtotals for each scale to derive
scale scores. Sum all six scale
scores for the Total Score.

Clinically
Significant Score

Intrapersonal Distress
(ID)

17

Somatic (S)

Interpersonal
Relations (IR)

Social Problems (SP)

Behavioral Dysfunction
(BD)

11

Critical Items (CI)

Total Score

47

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

OQ Quick Guide

DEPARTMENT OF
MENTAL HEALTH

Completed by clients ages 19 years and older for ALL EBPs, during the first and last EBP
treatment sessions, and every 6 months for treatment lasting 6 months or longer.

Program Support Bureau

MHSA Implementation Unit
PEIOutcomes@dmh.lacounty.gov

Purpose
The OQ is sensitive to shortterm changes, making it a
good instrument for evaluating
client progress at any point
during treatment.
Provides the clinician with a
snapshot of the clients
current functioning across a
wide variety of disorders.
Assesses personal and socially
relevant characteristics that
contribute to ones quality of
life.
The OQ contains risk
assessment items for potential
suicide, substance abuse and
workplace violence.

Administration
Instructions are contained in the
OQ and no additional
instructions should be
necessary.
Encourage clients to answer
every question as accurately
as possible.
Clients should indicate how
true each statement is for
him/her during the past week.
The OQ can be administered
by non-clinical or clinical staff,
but must be interpreted by a
trained clinician.

Outcome Questionnaire 45.2

Symptom Distress (SD)

High scores (> 36) indicate the client is reporting symptoms of anxiety,
depressed mood, difficulty adjusting to situational stressors, and/or
concerns about physical/somatic issues.

Interpersonal Relations (IR)

High scores (> 15) indicate the client is reporting significant dissatisfaction
with his/her quality of life, which may be related to loneliness,
dissatisfaction with family and/or marriage.

Social Role (SR)

High scores (> 12) reveal the client is reporting having difficulty fulfilling
common adult role expectations (worker, homemaker, student, etc.).
High scores also indicate the client is distressed and dissatisfied with
work/school requirements and may subsequently have a higher number of
conflicts than is typical.
Note: Low scores on items 12, 14 and 28 may be due to unemployment.

Total Score

Is calculated by adding the three subscales

Scores > 63 are significant and reflect increased distress related to
experiencing a high number of symptoms, interpersonal difficulties and
decreased satisfaction and quality of life.

Scoring Information
Please review answer sheet to ensure client has answered all items.
Using the hand-scoring answer sheet, transfer the score for each item to the
appropriate box in the far right-hand column.
Add each column of numbers, and write the total in the space provided at
the bottom of the right-hand column. The three subtotals represent the three
OQ subscale scores.
Add all three subscale scores for the Total Score.
Missing Data: Review the clients OQ responses to ensure the client has
answered each item. If a client leaves an item blank, total all answered items
in the subscale, divide by the number answered, round to the nearest whole
number, and insert this number for missing items.
Critical Items: Clinician should review and follow up with any critical items
that were endorsed (e.g., Item 8: Suicide; Items 11, 26 & 32: Substance
Abuse; Item 44: Violence).

Subscale

Revised: September 6, 2011

Clinically
Significant Score

Symptom Distress (SD)

36

Interpersonal Relations (IR)

15

Social Role (SR)

12

Total Score

63

Subscale scores can be used to identify and target particularly problematic

areas as a focus of treatment.