Further Evidence of the Utility and Validity of a Measure of Outcome for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The Ohio Youth Problems, Functioning, and Satisfaction Scales (Ohio Scales) are a recently developed set of measures designed to be a brief, practical assessment of changes in behavior over time in children and adolescents. The authors explored the convergent validity of the Ohio Scales by examining the relationship between the scales and subscales' scores generated by parents, agency workers, and youth of the Ohio Scales and DSM—IV diagnoses in a sample of 3,569 youth ages 5 to 18 across parent, agency worker, and youth reports.The Ohio Scales demonstrated evidence of convergent validity when predicted relationships between the scales and diagnoses were examined. The Ohio Scales also showed evidence of differentiating among broad diagnostic categories. By understanding how the Ohio Scales relate to routine clinical operations, the scales can be better used to create treatment plans and validate diagnoses, in addition to creating outcome management systems and evaluating the effectiveness of children's mental health services.