French version of the Rating Scale for aggressive behaviour in the Elderly (F-RAGE): psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy

Aggressive behaviour is the most disturbing and distressing behaviour displayed by elderly people. The prevalence of aggressive behaviour is around 50% among psychogeriatric patients. OBJECTIVE This study sought to analyze the psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy of the French version of the Rating Scale for Aggressive Behaviour in the Elderly (F-RAGE). METHODS The F-RAGE was administered to 79 patients hospitalized in a geriatric psychiatry department. A psychiatrist, who was blind to the subjects' RAGE scores, performed the diagnosis for aggressivity based on global clinical impression. The F-RAGE and MMSE were applied by a trained researcher blind to subjects' clinical diagnoses while the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory and Neuropsychiatric Inventory were administered by medical and nursing staff. Internal consistency, reliability, cut-off points, sensitivity and specificity for F-RAGE were estimated. RESULTS F-RAGE showed satisfactory validity and reliability measurements. Regarding reliability, Cronbach's α coefficient was satisfactory with a value of 0.758. For diagnostic accuracy, a cut-off point of 8 points (sensitivity=74.19%; specificity=97.98%) and area under curve of 0.960 were estimated to distinguish between aggressive patients and control subjects. DISCUSSION F-RAGE showed acceptable psychometric properties, supported by evidence of validity and reliability for its use in the diagnosis of aggressive behaviour in elderly.