Reliability of the GAF and CGAS with Children Exposed to Trauma

• NCJ Number: 220467
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 31 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 909-915
• Author(s): Katherine Blake; Scott Cangelosi; Sonja Johnson-Brooks; Harolyn M.E. Belcher
• Date Published: August 2007
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): 5 U 79 SM56215; MH01882
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Measurement/Evaluation Device
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The purpose of this study was to estimate the reliability of the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) in the evaluation of children with trauma.

Abstract

Results suggest that the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) may not reliably measure functioning in children with complex trauma exposure. Clinicians often use the GAF and CGAS to help make decisions about treatment progress, outcomes, and needs. Results suggest variability in clinicians’ reliability, favoring child cases without a history of trauma compared to those with a trauma history. The two most commonly used mental health measures of functioning of traumatized and non-traumatized children are the GAF and the CGAS. Only a limited number of studies have examined the reliability of the GAF and CGAS with child populations. Studies of the reliability of these measures have yielded mixed results. Using clinical case vignettes of both traumatized and non-traumatized children, this study attempted to estimate the reliability of the GAF and the CGAS. Table, references