Measurement of behavioural and emotional adjustment in children and their families

This paper describes scales available to assess the mental health of children and adolescents. These have generally been designed for research purposes but they can also be used clinically to document the quantity and quality of symptomatology, provided that undue emphasis is not placed on suggested cut-off scores. We outline general screening measures for psychiatric disorder, for emotional and externalizing disorders, for eating disorders, autism and for self-esteem. We also describe instruments used to document outcomes of contact with mental health services and case complexity. There are many scales that may be useful adjuncts to clinicians working within and outside child and adolescent mental health services. This contribution has discussed only a small proportion of those available. While these should not serve as a substitute for the clinical interview, they may inform diagnostic assessment and the monitoring of treatment response.