PAS®-O

Administration

• Appropriate for ages 18 to 89.
• Administration takes 5 minutes to complete.
• Contains just two components—a carbonless response form and a score summary and profile form, on which clinicians can plot element raw scores, raw difference T scores, global dissimilarly, and configural similarity T scores.
• Features about 10 elements representing 10 distinct domains of clinical problems.
• Written at a fourth-grade level.
• Valid administration of the PAS-O assumes that the informant is physically and emotionally capable of meeting the normal demands of rating scale, and this determination is a professional decision.
• Caution should be used with individuals whose cognitive abilities may be compromised by any factor (such as drug use, withdrawal from drugs or alcohol, intellectual disability, etc).

Scoring and Reporting

When the informant has finished answering the questions, the examiner should tear the perforation on the right and left side of the Answer sheet and peel back the top page to reveal the scoring sheet underneath. The scoring sheet provides item scores ranging from 0 to 3 for each of the 22 PAS-O items. It is important to note that the PAS/PAS-O comparison can also be accomplished if the client completed the full PAI (rather than the PAS) because all 22 items from the PAS are embedded in the PAI. Calculate the total score raw difference by subtracting the PAS Total score from the PAS-O Total Score.

Reliability, validity, and norms

• The PAS-O is a B- or S-level instrument, making it appropriate for clinical psychologists familiar with the PAS and PAI.
• Normed on community (n = 504) and clinical (n = 201) samples composed of dyad pairs.
• Internal consistency for the PAS-O Total score was .84 for the combined standardization sample (N = 705).
• Evidence for validity is provided via strong cross-informant correlations, strong correlations with the PAI, and moderate correlations with measures of client over- and under-reporting.
  

The PAS-O is a fast, efficient report to complement the PAS or PAI. It is a 22 item screener that takes 5 minutes to administer and suitable for instances when a client is unable to complete the PAS due to confusion, thought disorder, or other limitations. If PAS or PAS-O results indicate the need for in-depth testing, the PAI provides information relevant for clinical diagnosis and treatment planning.