A Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS)

TLDR

The study aimed to evaluate the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) as an adaptation of the adult Global Assessment Scale. The authors assessed CGAS by applying it to children and comparing its performance to established measures. CGAS proved to be a reliable, valid, and useful tool for assessing overall severity, and is recommended as a complement to syndrome‑specific scales.

Abstract

• We evaluated the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), an adaptation of the Global Assessment Scale for adults. Our findings indicate that the CGAS can be a useful measure of overall severity of disturbance. It was found to be reliable between raters and across time. Moreover, it demonstrated both discriminant and concurrent validity. Given these favorable psychometric properties and its relative simplicity, the CGAS is recommended to both clinicians and researchers as a complement to syndrome-specific scales.