Background: The Ward Daily Behaviour Scale is a new rating instrument that can be used to measure all the daily noteworthy behaviour of patients of various ages and diagnoses on psychiatric wards.
Method: The reliability and validity of the scale were tested on 40 patients.
Results: This instrument proved to be both reliable and valid for use on adult acute in-patient wards.
Conclusions: The scale will be a valuable tool in a wide range of ward-based studies.