The Children's Global Assessment Scale in clinical practice: an empirical evaluation.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) in the context of clinical practice.

METHOD

Ninety-five children admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit were rated by their attending psychiatrist and by milieu staff on the CGAS. Measures of severity and type of symptomatology; social, behavioral, and school competence; intellectual level; social relatedness; and family stress were completed by parents and staff raters.

RESULTS

Results indicated that there was significant convergence in CGAS ratings by independent raters. CGAS ratings were unrelated to measures of symptomatology but were significantly related to indices of children's competence.

CONCLUSIONS

This pattern of results diverged from findings from highly controlled research settings and indicated that CGAS ratings obtained in clinical contexts may reflect evaluations of functional competence rather than severity of symptomatology.