Distribution of CORE–OM scores in a general population, clinical cut-off points and comparison with the CIS–R

Abstract

Background: Although measures of psychopathology are designed for use in clinical populations, their meaning derives from comparison with normal populations.Aims: To compare the distribution of scores on the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation — Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) from a general population sample with the distribution in an aggregated clinical sample to derive recommended cut-off points for determining clinical significance.Method: The CORE-OM general population sample was based on a weighted subsample of participants in the psychiatric morbidity follow-up survey who completed valid CORE-OM forms following their interview (effective n=535).Results: Comparison of the CORE-OM general population sample with a clinical sample aggregated from previous studies (n=10761) yielded a cut-off score of 9.9 on the 0–40 scale of the CORE-OM. The CORE-OM was highly correlated (r=0.77) with the Clinical Interview Schedule — Revised, supporting convergent validity.Conclusions: We recommend rounding the CORE-OM cut-off score to 10. However, cut-off scores must be used thoughtfully and adjusted to fit context and purpose.