The Bird Checklist of Adolescent Paranoia (B-CAP)
A printable PDF version of The Bird Checklist of Adolescent Paranoia (B-CAP) is available for download and use.
The B-CAP is a self-report questionnaire that assesses paranoid thoughts in adolescents. Three components of paranoia are assessed: ideas of social harm, conspiracy, and physical threat. The B-CAP has been extensively validated in adolescents and shows excellent reliability across a wide range of paranoia severity, with the highest reliability at clinically elevated levels. The B-CAP therefore provides a precise measure of paranoia in young people for use in both mental health services and the general population (Bird et al. 2020). All 18 items can be added together to provide a total score representing the overall frequency of paranoid thoughts. Subscale scores can also be obtained by adding together responses for items 1–8 (social harm), 9–13 (conspiracy), and 14–18 (physical threat). Validated total score ranges are presented below to aid the clinical interpretation of severity.
B-CAP Score Ranges
| Category | Score Range | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Average | 0-22 | Scores in this range represent normal levels of suspicious thinking at less than 0.70 SDs above average for adolescents |
| Mildly elevated | 23-39 | Scores in this range represent mildly elevated suspiciousness at 0.75-1.40 SDs above average for adolescents. |
| Moderate | 40-53 | Scores in this range represent moderate paranoia at 1.45-1.95 SDs above average for adolescents. |
| High | 54-70 | Scores in this range represent high levels of paranoia at 2.00- 2.60 SDs above average for adolescents. |
| Severe | 71-90 | Scores in this range represent severe levels of paranoia at greater than 2.65 SDs above average for adolescents |
Note: SDs = standard deviations
Bird JC, Loe BS, Kirkham M, Fergusson EC, Shearn C, Stratford H, Teale A-L, Waite F, & Freeman D. (2020). The assessment of paranoia in young people: Item and test properties of the Bird Checklist of Adolescent Paranoia. Schizophrenia Research, 220, 116-122.
B-CAP
Name:
Date:
This form is about worries you may have about other people. Please circle how often you have had each thought over the last 2 weeks.
1: People at school are trying to make me feel unwanted
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
2: I’m sure people are gossiping
about me on social media
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
3: I am being pushed out of conversations on purpose
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
4: My friends or partner are
ignoring my messages to upset me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
5: People are trying to embarrass
me in class on purpose
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
6: People are making sly comments to upset me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
7: I think people are lying to me on purpose
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
8: People say things under their
breath to wind me up
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
9: Nasty tricks are being played
on me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
10: People are trying to confuse me
on purpose
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
11: Groups of people are planning against me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
12: People are collecting my information
or photos to use against me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
13: I’m sure people are seeking revenge on me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
14: I feel like I am being followed or stalked
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
15: I am scared of what strangers will
do to me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
16: People will try to kidnap me
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
17: could be attacked at any time
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time
18: I feel unsafe around people
everywhere I go
0 Never
1 Once
2 Couple of times
3 Few times a week
4 Every day
5 All of the time