Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS)

The YMRS is an 11-item clinician-administered rating scale designed to assess the severity of manic and hypomanic symptoms in bipolar disorder. Developed by Young and colleagues in 1978, it is the gold standard outcome measure in bipolar disorder research and the primary efficacy endpoint in mood stabilizer and antipsychotic trials for acute mania. The YMRS captures core mania features (elevated mood, increased goal-directed activity, racing thoughts, reduced need for sleep, increased talkativeness, distractibility, and irritability) and is sensitive to both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions.