Citation

Farmer E, Angold A, Burns B, Costello E. J. Child Fam. Stud. 1994; 3(3): 307-325.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF02234688

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper reports on the reliability of children's responses on the Child and Adolescent Services Assessment (CASA) -- a self-report instrument for use with 8− to 18-year-olds that gathers information about services used to address mental health problems. Findings were based on interviews completed by 77 children at a one week test-retest interval. Results showed that reports of lifetime service use were as reliable as were reports of service use in the preceding three months. Children reported restrictive and intrusive services more reliably than services that were provided in their natural environment. Reliability appeared to be associated more strongly with characteristics of the type of service than with characteristics of the child. Children also could report reliably on some details about their encounters with service providers (e.g., length of stay, number of visits, and onset of service use).