Background
The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) is a clinician-administered psychological assessment designed to measure the severity of manic symptoms commonly associated with bipolar disorder and related mood conditions. The scale evaluates elevated mood, increased energy and activity, irritability, sleep disturbance, speech patterns, thought disorder, aggressive behavior, appearance, and insight into illness.
The YMRS is one of the most widely used rating scales for assessing mania in clinical and research settings. It is commonly used to evaluate symptom severity during manic or hypomanic episodes and to monitor changes in symptoms over time during treatment. Higher scores generally indicate more severe manic symptoms and greater impairment in emotional, behavioral, and cognitive functioning.
Research has shown that the YMRS demonstrates strong psychometric properties, including good reliability, validity, and sensitivity to changes in manic symptom severity. The scale is frequently used in psychiatric evaluations, treatment outcome studies, and bipolar disorder research.
Procedure
Read each item carefully and select the option that best describes the individual’s current mood, behavior, thoughts, speech, and overall mental state during the recent past. Choose the response that most accurately reflects the severity of symptoms observed or experienced. There are no right or wrong answers.
Participation
This assessment is intended for educational, screening, research, and self-reflection purposes only. It is not designed to provide a formal psychiatric diagnosis or replace professional clinical evaluation. Results should be interpreted carefully within the broader context of emotional, psychological, and behavioral functioning.
Scoring & Interpretation
The YMRS is scored using a 5-point severity scale (0 = Absent to 4 = Severe). Traditionally, some items on the YMRS carry double weights in clinical scoring. Under this self-report digital implementation, scores are calculated by summing all responses, with the total score ranging from 0 to 44. Higher scores represent a greater intensity and severity of manic or hypomanic symptoms. Scores are also distributed across eleven distinct behavioral subscales, which are standardized to a 0–100 scale for comparative profiling.
Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) Questionnaire
Below is the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), a digitally adapted 11- items self-assessment questionnaire. Please read each of the following 11 items carefully. For each item, select the response option from "Absent" to "Severe" that best describes your typical thoughts, feelings, behaviors, energy levels, and social interactions during the past week. Answer as honestly and naturally as possible.
Sources
- Young RC, Biggs JT, Ziegler VE, Meyer DA. Young Mania Rating Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry. .