Global Assessment of Functioning - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is a numeric scale (0 through 100) used by mental health clinicians and physicians to subjectively rate the social, occupational, and psychological functioning of adults, e.g., how well or adaptively one is meeting various problems-in-living. The scale is presented and described in the DSM-IV-TR

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...

on page 34. The score is often given as a range, as outlined below:

91 - 100 Superior functioning in a wide range of activities, life's problems never seem to get out of hand, is sought out by others because of his or her many positive qualities. No symptoms.

81 - 90 Absent or minimal symptoms (e.g., mild anxiety before an exam), good functioning in all areas, interested and involved in a wide range of activities, socially effective, generally satisfied with life, no more than everyday problems or concerns (e.g., an occasional argument with family members).

71 - 80 If symptoms are present, they are transient and expectable reactions to psychosocial stressors (e.g., difficulty concentrating after family argument); no more than slight impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., temporarily falling behind in schoolwork).

61 - 70 Some mild symptoms (e.g., depressed mood and mild insomnia) OR some difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., occasional truancy, or theft within the household), but generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal relationships.

51 - 60 Moderate symptoms (e.g., flat affect and circumstantial speech, occasional panic attacks) OR moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., few friends, conflicts with peers or co-workers).

41 - 50 Serious symptoms (e.g., suicidal ideation, severe obsessional rituals, frequent shoplifting) OR any serious impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., no friends, unable to keep a job).

31 - 40 Some impairment in reality testing or communication (e.g., speech is at times illogical, obscure, or irrelevant) OR major impairment in several areas, such as work or school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood (e.g., depressed man avoids friends, neglects family, and is unable to work; child frequently beats up younger children, is defiant at home, and is failing at school).

21 - 30 Behavior is considerably influenced by delusions or hallucinations OR serious impairment, in communication or judgment (e.g., sometimes incoherent, acts grossly inappropriately, suicidal preoccupation) OR inability to function in almost all areas (e.g., stays in bed all day, no job, home, or friends)

11 - 20 Some danger of hurting self or others (e.g., suicide attempts without clear expectation of death; frequently violent; manic excitement) OR occasionally fails to maintain minimal personal hygiene (e.g., smears feces) OR gross impairment in communication (e.g., largely incoherent or mute).

1 - 10 Persistent danger of severely hurting self or others (e.g., recurrent violence) OR persistent inability to maintain minimal personal hygiene OR serious suicidal act with clear expectation of death.

Use in litigation

Montalvo v. Barnhart, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44133 (W.D.N.Y. 2005).(RAMS 2011)

Montalvo attempts to substitute “overall level of functioning and carrying out activities of daily living” with “social, occupational, or school functioning." It is possible to see the possibility of some degree of overlap because "Social functioning" is arguably a subset of overall functioning and Activities of daily living

Activities of daily living

Activities of Daily Living is a term used in healthcare to refer to daily self-care activities within an individual's place of residence, in outdoor environments, or both...

. However, some have argued that equivalence is not clearly stated in DSM-IV-TR.

GAF levels are commonly used by the Veterans Benefits Administration

Veterans Benefits Administration

The Veterans Benefits Administration is "an organizational element of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs". The Veterans Benefits Administration is responsible for administering the Department’s programs that provide financial and other forms of assistance to Veterans, their dependents, and...

of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Department of Veterans Affairs

Department of Veterans Affairs may refer to:*Department of Veterans' Affairs, Australia*United States Department of Veterans Affairs*Veterans Affairs Canada*Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affairs...

in determining the appropriate level of disability compensation to be paid to veterans who suffer from service connected psychiatric disorders. The emphasis by the Veterans Administration on using the GAF score has, however, decreased in recent years.

External links

Guidelines for use of GAF Assessment
Modified Global Assessment of Functioning – Revised (mGAF-R) - adapted in 2004 by the Florida DCF Functional Assessment Workgroup from the original M-GAF reported by S. Caldecott-Hazard & R.C.W. Hall, 1995

Use in litigation

External links

See also