GAF

Medical abbreviation · Mental Health & Psychiatry

GAF
Stands forGlobal Assessment of Functioning
CategoriesMedical

GAF stands for Global Assessment of Functioning, a mental health & psychiatry abbreviation.

Numeric scale from 1 to 100 rating a person's overall psychological, social and occupational functioning, with higher scores indicating better functioning. It was Axis V of the DSM-IV multiaxial diagnosis.

Example: Older evaluation from 2010 lists GAF 45, serious impairment in work and social functioning.

Usage notes

DSM-5 dropped the GAF in 2013 because of poor reliability and recommended the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) instead. GAF scores still appear in older records, some disability and insurance documents, and certain agency forms. Pronounced "gaff".

More mental health & psychiatry abbreviations

  • EMDR – Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
  • EPS – Extrapyramidal symptoms
  • ERP – Exposure and response prevention
  • EUPD – Emotionally unstable personality disorder
  • GAD – Generalized anxiety disorder
  • GAD-7 – Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale
  • GD – Gender dysphoria
  • HAM-D – Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression
  • HI – Homicidal ideation
  • ID – Intellectual disability
  • IED – Intermittent explosive disorder
  • IOP – Intensive outpatient program

See all 100 mental health & psychiatry abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.