Child and Adolescent Strengths Assessment ( CASA )
Overview
Acronym:
CASA Author Contact:
John S. Lyons, Ph.D
Northwestern University
Mental Health Services and Policy Program
339 E. Chicago Avenue, Wieboldt Hall-717
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-908-8972
Citation:
Lyons, J.S., Uziel-Miller, N.D., Reyes, F., & Sokol, P.T. (2000). The strengths of children and adolescents in residential settings: Prevalence and associations with psychopathology and discharge placement. Journal of the Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(2), 176-181.
To Obtain:
The CASA is available from the first author (see contact information above or email below).
Email:
jsl329@nwu.edu
Email:
jsl329@northwestern.edu
Cost:
$0.00
Copyright:
No Description:
The CASA is a rater-report measure designed to assess child/adolescent status with regard to 30 potential strengths, for use in mental health service planning and delivery. Strengths are assessed on 6 dimensions: 1) family, 2) school/vocational, 3) psychological, 4) peer, 5) moral/spiritual, and 6) extracurricular.
Theoretical Orientation Summary:
Developing interest in creating strength-based approches for work with children and adolescents and their families.
Domains Assessed:
Family support /cohesion
Psychosocial functioning (caregiver)
School climate (child)
School milieu and responsiveness (child)
Spirituality (child)
Languages:
English (USA)
Age Range:
3-18 Years
Measure Type:
General Assessment
Number of Items:
30 Measure Format:
Other
Time to Complete:
5
Reporter:
Other
Score Time:
5
Education Level:
0
Periodicity:
Unknown Response Format:
Reporters (parents, teachers, clinicians, or those with access and familiarity to clinical record) rate the youth on specific items (e.g., "Reads for pleasure") on a 3-point scale, anchored to indicate the presence of a strength and the potential for development. In general, anchors indicate: "No Evidence," "Interest/Potential," and "Yes, Definitely."
Materials Needed:
Paper and pencil
Information Provided:
Areas of concern/risks
Clinician friendly output
Continuous assessment
Raw Scores
Strengths
Training
Training to Administrator:
Prior experience psych testing & interpretation
Training to Interpret:
Not Available
Psychometrics
Norms:
None
Pros & Cons
Pros:
1. This measure provides a comprehensive assessment of potential strengths in children and adolescents' lives across multiple contexts.
2. It assesses different categories of strengths from different contexts (e.g., school/vocational strengths and peer strengths).
3. It appears easy to complete and the rating scale makes conceptual sense to clinicians.
Cons:
1. The psychometrics have been examined only in a residential treatment population. More research is needed with other populations.
2. More research is needed on the measure's psychometrics including test-retest reliability and interrater reliability.
3. More research is needed examining the validity with established measures including strength-based measures.
4. There is no psychometric research regarding the measure's reliability with specific trauma populations.
5. The measure has not been translated into other languages for use by non-English-speaking assessors. English-literate clinicians can use the measure when working with other language groups, but the psychometrics of such a procedure have not yet been determined.
Author Comments
Author Comments:
The author read the review and had no comments.
Citation for Review:
Trauma Center staff
Editor of Review:
Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Ph.D., Madhur Kulkarni, M.S.
Last Updated:
Mon, 07/11/2005
PDF Available:
Yes
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