Rating Scales validated for Sri Lankan populations

The use of rating scales in psychiatry increased in the late 1950s with the introduction of antipsychotics and antidepressants. Initially rating scales were used mainly to evaluate the effectiveness of new medication against placebo. As the need increased for good reliability and validity, further rating scales were developed and these were used not only in clinical trials but also to diagnose and assess the severity and outcome of illness. The rating scales most widely used in the 1960s and 1970s were the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to evaluate effectiveness of antipsychotics, and the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales (HAM-D and HAM-A) which were used to evaluate the effectiveness of antidepressants and anxiolytic drugs (1, 2).