Properties of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Ways of Coping Checklist in a Diagnostically Diverse Partial Hospital Sample.

OBJECTIVE: Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was developed for treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and adapted forms of DBT are currently used to treat bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. This study was designed to validate the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Ways of Coping Checklist (DBT-WCCL) DBT Skills subscale (DSS) for use in a diagnostically heterogeneous sample.

METHOD: We used naturalistic data from 228 patients receiving treatment at a partial hospital program to assess psychometric properties of the DBT-WCCL DSS. We assessed interitem correlations, internal consistency, factor structure, construct validity and sensitivity to change.

RESULTS: Internal consistency, construct validity, and sensitivity to change were good. The measure displayed good convergent and discriminant validity. Factor analysis results were consistent with previous research indicating a 1-factor solution for this subscale.

CONCLUSIONS: Psychometric properties were similar to the original BPD sample, indicating that this measure can be used as an assessment tool for DBT skill use in a diverse psychiatric population.