Looking at things from another perspective often makes them clearer. In psychological testing, for instance, rating scales are often used to glean information about a single client from observers who are close to that client, such as parents and teachers. Used in conjunction with a client’s self-report data, observer reports can give clinicians a well-rounded picture of a client’s functioning. This not only helps them narrow down and identify a client’s diagnosis, but it also helps them develop appropriate and effective treatment options.

PAR’s newest assessment instrument, the Personality Assessment Screener–Observer (PAS-O), is an observer report designed to complement the self-report Personality Assessment Screener (PAS). Derived from the gold-standard Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)—one of the most important innovations in the field of personality assessment—the PAS screens for a wide range of contemporary clinical problems in just 5 minutes.

Using the same 22 items on the PAS, which were selected because they are the most sensitive to a broad range of clinical problems, the PAS-O provides clinicians with information about a client from the perspective of someone close to that client, such as a spouse, parent, or close friend. It can be used to support PAS scores, validate problem areas, and indicate the need for follow-up testing. The PAS-O is the only informant personality assessment normed on score discrepancies, and it was normed on both community and clinical samples composed of dyad pairs. It takes just 5 minutes to administer and features 10 elements representing 10 distinct domains of clinical problems.

Discrepancy scores for the PAS-O can also be calculated using scores from the full PAI rather than the PAS. If self-report ratings from a client are not available due to confusion, thought disorder, or other limitations, the PAS-O can be used in isolation and provides a metric indicating the likelihood that the client would have an elevated PAI score.

Learn more about the PAS-O or purchase your PAS-O Introductory Kit or PAS/PAS-O Combination Kit today!