Brief Description
The Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) is a structured assessment tool used to measure the frequency and severity of aggressive behaviors. The scale categorizes aggression into four types: verbal aggression, aggression against property, autoaggression (self-directed), and physical aggression against others. Each category has 5 statements that range from no aggression (0) to examples of severe aggression within that subcategory (4). The MOAS is commonly used in clinical and inpatient psychiatric settings to monitor changes in aggressive behavior over time and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
Assessment Administration Type
Most frequently provider report, especially in inpatient settings or a parent/caregiver report.
Number of questions
20
Age Range for Administration
No specific age range is identified. This tool has been validated for use with children and adults.
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Weekly
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
Scoring the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) involves evaluating four categories of aggressive behavior: verbal aggression, aggression against property, autoaggression, and physical aggression against others. Each of the 4 categories consists of 5 statements that vary the range of aggression, with the first statement (not severe) valued at 0 points and the last statement (most severe) valued at 4 points. Respondents select each statement that applies to their patient/client. For each category, the score is then multiplied by a weight (Verbal = 1, Property = 2, Autoaggression = 3, Physical = 4) to reflect the behaviors’ severity. The weighted scores are then summed to provide a total weighted score, which can range from 0 to 100. The total weighted score is used for assessing a patient’s overall level of aggression and monitoring changes over time.
Category / Subscale | Items | Weight (i.e., each “Yes” response is multiplied by…) |
Verbal Aggression | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | 1 |
Aggression Against Property | 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 | 2 |
Autoaggression | 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 | 3 |
Physical Aggression | 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 | 4 |
Blueprint Adjustments
Blueprint has adapted this assessment to fit its platform by making each statement have a “Yes” or “No” response. All “No” responses are valued at “0.” Blueprint has automatically added in the weights for each item such that the total score shown in Blueprint is the Total Weighted Score. The subscale scores are also weighted scores. Note, due to limitations of the platform at this time, the “Yes” responses that are supposed to have a value of “0” are given a value of “0.01” since both “Yes” and “No” cannot be “0” in the platform; these numbers are rounded to the nearest integer and thus, does not impact scoring calculations.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated time of completion: 4-7 minutes.
This measure is primarily used in inpatient psychiatric settings, but can also be used in outpatient settings.
Citation
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