title: Assessment issues in treatment research of pediatric anxiety disorders: what is working, what is not working, what is missing, and what needs improvement.
abstract: Reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the rating scales for anxiety disorders makes it possible to select appropriate measures for use in a multisite treatment study of children and adolescents with DSM-IV-diagnosed anxiety disorders. Categorical diagnosis for study inclusion is provided by the K-SADS-PL, which has strong published psychometrics for anxiety disorders. Broadband symptom ratings of diverse pediatric psychiatric disorder can be obtained at baseline by the parent-scored Child Behavior Checklist. Anxiety symptom monitoring may be provided by the use of two psychometrically strong self-report measures, the MASC and the SCARED. Weekly global ratings are provided by the CGI whose scale points have been enhanced by detailed anchors; in addition, the raters all trained on practice vignettes to calibrate their scoring. Clinician-based ratings of the patient's anxiety symptoms can be carried out in adolescent patients using the HAM-A. The newly developed Children's Anxiety Rating Scale promises to cover the full pediatric age range as a clinician-based anxiety rating instrument, but must first be subjected to formal psychometric and treatment sensitivity evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Greenhill
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: March
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Birmaher
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riddle
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans