Development of the pediatric accommodation scale: Reliability and validity of clinician- and parent-report measures

• We developed clinician- and parent-rated measures of accommodation in anxious youth.
• Both versions of the family accommodation measure have good psychometric properties.
• Family accommodation is common among youth with anxiety disorders.
• Accommodation is associated with parent- and youth-rated impairment.
• Impact of accommodation on parents is associated with parent depressive symptoms.

The present study developed parallel clinician- and parent-rated measures of family accommodation (Pediatric Accommodation Scale, PAS; Pediatric Accommodation Scale-Parent Report; PAS-PR) for youth with a primary anxiety disorder. Both measures assess frequency and impact of family accommodation on youth and families. Studying youth ages 5–17 (N = 105 caregiver-youth dyads), results provide evidence for the psychometric properties of the PAS, including internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. The PAS-PR exhibited good internal consistency and convergent validity with the PAS. Nearly all parents (>95%) endorsed some accommodation and accommodation frequency was associated with parent-rated impairment (home and school), and with youth-rated impairment (school only). Greater impact of accommodation on parents was associated with parent self-reported depressive symptoms. Findings support the common occurrence of family accommodation in youth with anxiety disorders, as well as for the use of the PAS and PAS-PR to measure family accommodation in this population.