Measuring Insight in a High‐security Forensic Setting Using the Behavioural Status Index

Abstract

One of the challenging facets of mental health care can be that of trying to deal with a patient's level of insight. Problems that seem apparent to assessing practitioners are sometimes not regarded in the same way by the patient. Measuring a concept like insight is not easy. The Behavioural Status Index (BSI) breaks insight into components and measurable criteria. Such a measurement instrument provides opportunities for detailed analysis of function, opportunity for very specific interventions, further detailed assessment and measurement of progress. This paper begins with a theoretical introduction to the concept of insight and a description of the BSI. Data analysis then follows for the BSI insight subscale. Data were collected, using a repeated measures method from a sample of 503 individual patients in two high‐security mental health hospitals. Results are reported for the central tendency and spread of items; the differences between the Mental Health Act 1983 classifications of mental illness, psychopathic disorder and learning disabilities, patient‐ward dependency level and gender; and the relationship between items, within the subscale. The relationship between items suggests two distinct groupings of acceptive (the ability to recognise and differentiate inner feelings of tension or anger) and cognitional (conscious awareness of inner states) behaviours.

Citation

Woods, P., Reed, V. and Collins, M. (2001), "Measuring Insight in a High‐security Forensic Setting Using the Behavioural Status Index", The British Journal of Forensic Practice, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636646200100015