Abstract: Objective: To develop a psychiatric nursing grading assessment scale, thereby providing a scientific and effective tool for rapidly screening psychiatric patients at risk and implementing differentiated levels of nursing care. Methods: Based on the three-dimensional nursing model, a preliminary version of the scale was developed through literature review, qualitative interviews, and expert consultation. Using convenience sampling, 314 inpatients from four tertiary grade A psychiatric hospitals in Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Xiamen were selected from January to March 2025. Item analysis was conducted, grading criteria were established, and the scale's reliability and validity were tested. Results: The psychiatric nursing grading assessment scale consists of 6 items (aggressive behavior, suicidal and self-injurious behavior, consciousness status, psychiatric symptoms, emotional state, and activities of daily living) and 30 specific scoring items. Exploratory factor analysis extracted three common factors with eigenvalues >1, accounting for a cumulative variance contribution rate of 73.379%. The scale's Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.765, and Kendall's W coefficient was 0.866 (P<0.05). Conclusion: The psychiatric nursing grading assessment scale demonstrates good reliability and validity and can be used for nursing care classification in psychiatric inpatients.

Key words: psychiatry; nursing classification; scale development; reliability; validity