The Youth Sheehan Disability Scale: A Psychometric Evaluation

Effective and efficient measures of functional impairment in youth are needed, as few validated measures exist. The youth-adapted Sheehan Disability Scale (Y-SDS) measures (1) child-reported impairment (Y-SDS-C), (2) parent reported child impairment (Y-SDS-PC), and (3) parent report of their own impairment due to the child’s symptoms (Y-SDS-PP). The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Y-SDS, explore potential age-related differences, and examine sensitivity to change over 15 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy. The sample included 583 parent-child dyads presenting to treatment at a specialty outpatient clinic. Youth and parents reported mild to moderate impairment across domains. Cronbach’s α was acceptable for all three scales with some variation in child report by age. Inter-rater agreement was fair between parent and child report of child’s functional impairment. Greater Y-SDS-C and Y-SDS-PC were significantly correlated with higher clinician-rated illness, anxiety, and depression severity at baseline. Significant reductions in functional impairment were found across treatment and improvements were correlated with improved severity on clinician and child reported measures. Overall, the Y-SDS is a reliable and valid measure of youth and parent functional impairment with utility as an outcome measure in treatment.