Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale – Child version (RCADS-Child)

Instructions:

Check the word that shows how often each of these things happens to you. There are no right or wrong answers.

Never Sometimes Often Always
1 I worry about things 0 1 2 3
2 I feel sad or empty 0 1 2 3
3 When I have a problem, I get a funny feeling in my stomach 0 1 2 3
4 I worry when I think I have done poorly at something 0 1 2 3
5 I would feel afraid of being on my own at home 0 1 2 3
6 Nothing is much fun anymore 0 1 2 3
7 I feel scared when I have to take a test 0 1 2 3
8 I feel worried when I think someone is angry with me 0 1 2 3
9 I worry about being away from my parents 0 1 2 3
10 I get bothered by bad or silly thoughts or pictures in my mind 0 1 2 3
11 I have trouble sleeping 0 1 2 3
12 I worry that I will do badly at my school work 0 1 2 3
13 I worry that something awful will happen to someone in my family 0 1 2 3
14 I suddenly feel as if I can’t breathe when there is no reason for this 0 1 2 3
15 I have problems with my appetite 0 1 2 3
I have to keep checking that I have done 0 1 2 3
16 things right (like the switch is off, or the door is locked)
Never Sometimes Often Always
17 I feel scared if I have to sleep on my own 0 1 2 3
I have trouble going to school in the 0 1 2 3
18 mornings because I feel nervous or afraid
19 I have no energy for things 0 1 2 3
20 I worry I might look foolish 0 1 2 3
21 I am tired a lot 0 1 2 3
22 I worry that bad things will happen to me 0 1 2 3
23 I can’t seem to get bad or silly thoughts out of my head 0 1 2 3
24 When I have a problem, my heart beats really fast 0 1 2 3
25 I cannot think clearly 0 1 2 3
26 I suddenly start to tremble or shake when there is no reason for this 0 1 2 3
27 I worry that something bad will happen to me 0 1 2 3
28 When I have a problem, I feel shaky 0 1 2 3
29 I feel worthless 0 1 2 3
30 I worry about making mistakes 0 1 2 3
I have to think of special thoughts (like 0 1 2 3
31 numbers or words) to stop bad things from happening
32 I worry what other people think of me 0 1 2 3
I am afraid of being in crowded places 0 1 2 3
33 (like shopping centers, the movies,
buses, busy playgrounds)
34 All of a sudden I feel really scared for no reason at all 0 1 2 3
35 I worry about what is going to happen 0 1 2 3
36 I suddenly become dizzy or faint when there is no reason for this 0 1 2 3
Never Sometimes Often Always
37 I think about death 0 1 2 3
38 I feel afraid if I have to talk in front of my class 0 1 2 3
39 My heart suddenly starts to beat too quickly for no reason 0 1 2 3
40 I feel like I don’t want to move 0 1 2 3
41 I worry that I will suddenly get a scared feeling when there is nothing to be afraid of 0 1 2 3
42 I have to do some things over and over again (like washing my hands, cleaning or putting things in a certain order) 0 1 2 3
43 I feel afraid that I will make a fool of myself in front of people 0 1 2 3
44 I have to do some things in just the right way to stop bad things from happening 0 1 2 3
45 I worry when I go to bed at night 0 1 2 3
46 I would feel scared if I had to stay away from home overnight 0 1 2 3
47 I feel restless 0 1 2 3

Description

The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-Child) is a 47 item self-report questionnaire that measures symptoms of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents aged 8 – 18. It consists of six subscales including separation anxiety disorder (SAD), social phobia (SP), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). The RCADS-Child can be used to screen for and monitor symptoms of depression and anxiety. A parallel version of the RCADS-Child, The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale Parent version (RCADS-Parent) assesses the young person’s symptoms of depression and anxiety from the parent perspective and can be utilised in conjunction with the RCADS-Child.

Validity and Reliability

The RCADS-Child was developed by Chorpita and colleagues (2000). The scale was administered to 1641 children and adolescents in the community. Six factors were yielded, consistent with DMS-IV disorders of anxiety and depression, including separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, generalised anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and major depressive disorder. The RCADS-Child has demonstrated good structural validity, reliability and convergent and discriminant validity (Chorpita et al., 2000). The RCADS-Child has also been validated in an Australian community sample (N = 405) of children and adolescents aged 8 -18 (de Ross et al., 2002). The sample was divided into two age groups, 8-12 years and 13-18 years of age.

Interpretation

A Total Anxiety Scale score (sum of the 5 anxiety subscales) and a Total Internalizing Scale score (sum of all 6 subscales) are derived, with higher scores indicating increased symptom severity. In addition, items are summed to obtain a total score for each of the six subscales. Subscale scores are converted into percentiles, based on age, compared to the Australian community sample (de Ross et al., 2002). A percentile score of 50 represents average levels of symptoms compared to age related peers, whereas a percentile above, for example, the 90th percentile indicates high levels of symptoms. Sub-scales are computed by summing the following items: Separation Anxiety: items 5, 9, 17, 18, 33, 45, 46 Social Phobia: items 4, 7, 8, 12, 20, 30, 32, 38, 43 Generalized Anxiety: items 1, 13, 22, 27, 35, 37 Panic Disorder: items 3, 14, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36, 39, 41 Obsessive-Compulsive: items 10,16, 23, 31, 42, 44 Major Depression: items 2, 6, 11, 15, 19, 21, 25, 29, 40, 47

Developer

Chorpita, B. F., Yim, L., Moffitt, C., Umemoto, L. A., & Francis, S. E. (2000). Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in children: A revised child anxiety and depression scale. Behaviour research and therapy, 38(8), 835-855.

Number Of Questions

47

References

Chorpita, B. F., Yim, L., Moffitt, C., Umemoto, L. A., & Francis, S. E. (2000). Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in children: A revised child anxiety and depression scale. Behaviour research and therapy, 38(8), 835-855.

de Ross, R. L., Gullone, E., & Chorpita, B. F. (2002). The Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale: A Psychometric. Behaviour Change, 19, 2.

Developer Reference:

Chorpita, B. F., Yim, L., Moffitt, C., Umemoto, L. A., & Francis, S. E. (2000). Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in children: A revised child anxiety and depression scale. Behaviour research and therapy, 38(8), 835-855.

x
LinkedInRedditMessengerTelegramWhatsApp

Related terms:

  1. Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale – Parent Version (RCADS-Parent)
  2. Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS)
  3. Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Child Version (SCARED Child)
  4. Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale – Child (SCAS- Child)
  5. Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Parent Version (SCARED Parent)
  6. Juvenile Love Scale: A Child’s Version of the Passionate Love Scale
  7. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression / Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
  8. REVISED ATTITUDES TOWARDS VIOLENCE SCALE: Scoring version
  9. Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R)
  10. Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale (CALIS)