Initial Validation of the Functional Impairment Scale for Children and Adolescents

Disagreement between parent and adolescent reports of functional impairment

“…Functioning is conceptualized and measured in a variety of ways. Some instruments yield a single global rating of impairment (e.g., Children's Global Assessment Scale [C‐GAS; Shaffer et al, 1983]; Columbia Impairment Scale [CIS; Bird et al, 1993]; Vanderbilt Functioning Index [VFI; Bickman et al, 1995]), while others produce separate ratings for different domains of functioning (e.g., problems at school, problems with peers) (e.g., Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a, b], Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents [SAICA; John, Davis, Prusoff, & Warner, 1987], Vineland Scales [Sparrow, Balla, & Cicchetti, 1984], Vineland Screener [Cicchetti, Sparrow, & Carter, 1991], Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale [CAFAS; Hodges & Wong, 1996], Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale [BERS; Epstein & Sharma, 1997], and the Functional Impairment Scale for Children and Adolescents – Self Report Version [FISCA‐SR; Frank, Paul, Marks, & Van Egeren, 2000; Frank, Van Egeren, Fortier, & Chase, 2000]). Measures also differ in whether they assess functioning in general or specifically in relation to psychiatric symptoms (Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment [CAPA; Angold et al, 1995]) or diagnoses (Diagnostic Interview for Schedule for Children, Version 4 [DISC; Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, & Schwab‐Stone, 2000]).…”

From the laboratory to the hospital, adults to adolescents, and disorders to personality: The case of psychological reactance

“…Patient functional impairment at admission and follow up was measured by parent or guardian response to the Functional Impairment Scale for Children and Adolescents (FISCA; Frank & Paul, 1995). The FISCA is a 183-item questionnaire with eight scales measuring separate dimensions of child or adolescent impairment.…”

“…Validity studies for the FISCA provide initial support for its construct, discriminant, and predictive validity (Frank, Paul, & Marks, 1997;Paul, 1996). FISCA scores relate meaningfully to other well-known measures of child impairment and child behavior problems; discriminate child/adolescent inpatients from child/adolescent outpatients; and predict inpatient length of stay and hospital recidivism.…”