Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale
PANSS is a trained clinician rating of psychosis-related symptoms. This page is catalogue information. It is not a self-test.
Overview
What is the PANSS?
The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale is used in specialist psychosis services and trials to rate positive, negative, and general psychopathology items after interview and observation.
Development and clinical use
Kay, Fiszbein and Opler published PANSS. Structured interview guides and publisher scoring materials followed. Rater training is part of competent use.
- Administrator
- Trained clinician
- Mode
- Interview and observation
- Digital DIY
- Not supported here
- Rater training
- Required
- Clinical role
- Severity support
- Diagnosis
- Not established by score
Administration
A focused clinician rating
A trained rater uses official items and anchors. This cannot be converted into a public questionnaire.
- One rated item at a time with visible progress
- Keyboard-operable response choices
- Previous, next, and review steps for the rater
- Clear confirmation that the rating is stored for clinic review
The illustration does not reproduce PANSS items.
Report showcase
Designed to make evidence easy to review
The downloadable synthetic example illustrates report layout using invented response patterns, without patient data or instrument questions.
- Named instrument, version, and provenance
- Item-level response pattern without source wording
- Methodology, references, and clinical boundary
- Responsible clinician review rather than automated conclusions
Clinician review required
Methodology
Understand the measure and its scoring conventions
Official manuals define subscale scoring. This page does not independently verify algorithms or reproduce items.
References
- Original PANSS paperKay SR, Fiszbein A, Opler LA. The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS). Schizophr Bull. 1987;13(2):261-276.
Questions
What clinics ask before they evaluate the PANSS
These answers stay inside educational catalogue scope. They do not replace official manuals or clinician judgement.
Can a patient complete PANSS online?
No. It is a trained clinician rating made after interview and observation.
Does PANSS diagnose schizophrenia?
No. It rates named symptom domains for specialist review.
Can I complete it here?
No. This page is educational catalogue information.
What is required before use?
Rater training, official anchors, and local governance.