Abstract
Background: The Child and Adolescent Service Intensity Instrument (CASII) is a tool to determine
the appropriate level of care placement for a child or adolescent. The CASII links a clinical assessment
of the child and its environment with standardized levels of care using a detailed algorithm. It
can be used for children aged 6–18 years with psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, or
developmental disorders. This study reports on the translation of the instrument into Dutch and tests
of its validity and reliability using both case vignettes and real-life cases seen within the Belgian
mental health and child welfare systems. Methods: Reliability testing of the CASII was conducted
based on both standard vignettes and live cases. To test the validity, the CASII was compared to the
Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
Trained professionals with various education and active in different sectors completed the CASII.
Results: Using case vignettes, the intraclass correlation coefficients for the different dimensions
ranged from 0.29 to 0.79. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for placement recommendations
was excellent (0.74). The ICCs for the subscale ratings for the live cases ranged from 0.40 to 0.90.
The CASII showed good validity when compared to the CGAS (correlations ranging between
0.47 and 0.82). When compared to the SDQ, the CASII correlated low to moderate with the total
difficulties score (0.05–0.37) but correlated slightly higher with the impact score (0.25–0.35).
Conclusions: The data confirm the usefulness of the CASII among different service providers of
different sectors with a broad range of clinical experience and professional training. The findings
extend and partially replicate other findings and suggest reasonable but not unequivocal validity and
reliability across linguistically and culturally different contexts
the appropriate level of care placement for a child or adolescent. The CASII links a clinical assessment
of the child and its environment with standardized levels of care using a detailed algorithm. It
can be used for children aged 6–18 years with psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, or
developmental disorders. This study reports on the translation of the instrument into Dutch and tests
of its validity and reliability using both case vignettes and real-life cases seen within the Belgian
mental health and child welfare systems. Methods: Reliability testing of the CASII was conducted
based on both standard vignettes and live cases. To test the validity, the CASII was compared to the
Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
Trained professionals with various education and active in different sectors completed the CASII.
Results: Using case vignettes, the intraclass correlation coefficients for the different dimensions
ranged from 0.29 to 0.79. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for placement recommendations
was excellent (0.74). The ICCs for the subscale ratings for the live cases ranged from 0.40 to 0.90.
The CASII showed good validity when compared to the CGAS (correlations ranging between
0.47 and 0.82). When compared to the SDQ, the CASII correlated low to moderate with the total
difficulties score (0.05–0.37) but correlated slightly higher with the impact score (0.25–0.35).
Conclusions: The data confirm the usefulness of the CASII among different service providers of
different sectors with a broad range of clinical experience and professional training. The findings
extend and partially replicate other findings and suggest reasonable but not unequivocal validity and
reliability across linguistically and culturally different contexts
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 139-151 |
| Journal | World Social Psychiatry |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |