Introduction
The Child and Adolescent Social and Adaptive Functioning Scale (CASAFS) is a 24-item self-report measure of how well young people aged 10 to 17 fulfill important social roles. Carmen S. Price, Susan H. Spence, Jeanie Sheffield and Caroline Donovan published it in 2002. It covers school performance, peer relationships, family relationships, and home duties and self-care.
The authors were based at the School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia, and the original study appeared in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Since then, the CASAFS has received more than 100 citations. This guide describes its structure, scoring, validation evidence and practical uses for researchers and clinicians.
Key Features of the CASAFS
Purpose and Use
The developers created the CASAFS to assess the social and adaptive functioning of children and adolescents across developmentally relevant life domains. In particular, it evaluates how successfully young people fulfill their roles at school, with peers, within the family, and at home. The scale suits both community and clinical settings.
Target Population
The CASAFS targets children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years. It suits young people in the community as well as those seen in clinical services.
Structure
The CASAFS contains 24 items grouped into four subscales of six items each:
Subscale
What it covers
Items
School Performance
Academic functioning
6
Peer Relationships
Friendships and social participation
6
Family Relationships
Relationships with parents, siblings and relatives
6
Home Duties/Self-care
Daily self-care and household responsibilities
6
Scoring Method
Respondents rate each item on a 4-point frequency scale: 1 (Never), 2 (Sometimes), 3 (Often) and 4 (Always). Family relationship items also offer a "Does not apply to me" option for items that do not fit the respondent's situation.
Reverse scoring: four negatively worded items (17, 18, 19 and 22) are reverse scored before any scores are calculated.Total score: the sum of all items, ranging from 24 to 96. Higher scores indicate better social and adaptive functioning.Subscale scores: each subscale sums six items and ranges from 6 to 24.Cut-off scores: no cut-off values are reported.Administration Format
The CASAFS is a self-report questionnaire, so young people complete it themselves. They rate how often each statement applies to them on the four-point frequency scale described above.
Applications of the CASAFS
The CASAFS supports several research and clinical uses:
Clinical assessment: describing a young person's functioning across school, peer, family and home roles.Community research: measuring social and adaptive functioning in non-clinical samples of children and adolescents.School-related research: for example, a Spanish study examined the scale's links with school refusal behavior in children.Languages and availability
Researchers have studied the CASAFS in Spanish. Specifically, a 2019 study examined its factorial invariance and latent mean differences in Spanish children.
A copy of the questionnaire is available as a PDF. For questions about use, contact Susan H. Spence at the School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia, or by email at s.spence@psy.edu.au.
Reliability and Validity
The original study demonstrated good overall internal consistency. In addition, it provided strong evidence for construct validity and factorial validity.
Validation studies:
The original development study by Price and colleagues (2002): study linkFactorial invariance and latent mean differences in Spanish children (2019): study linkLimitations and Considerations
Users should consider the following points:
No cut-off values: no cut-off values are reported, so scores cannot classify young people into clinical groups.Further validation needed: the original authors recommended additional validation across broader age groups, cultures and clinical populations.Age range: the scale targets young people aged 10 to 17.Other Versions And Related Questionnaires
No other versions of the CASAFS are reported. However, the following measures are similar or complementary:
Social Adjustment Self-Report ScaleChild Behavior ChecklistChildren's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS)Global Assessment ScaleAdditional Resources
The original validation study: linkYou can access the questionnaire as a PDF through this linkFor inquiries, contact Susan H. Spence at s.spence@psy.edu.au.Browse more psychiatry questionnaires in the ResRef database.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Who can complete the CASAFS?The CASAFS is designed for children and adolescents aged 10 to 17. Young people complete it themselves, and it suits both community and clinical settings.
What does the CASAFS measure?It measures social and adaptive functioning in four domains: school performance, peer relationships, family relationships, and home duties and self-care. Each domain has six items.
How is the CASAFS scored?Items use a 4-point scale from 1 (Never) to 4 (Always). After reversing items 17, 18, 19 and 22, the total ranges from 24 to 96, and higher scores mean better functioning.
Does the CASAFS have a cut-off score?No. No cut-off values are reported for the CASAFS, so researchers and clinicians interpret the total and subscale scores without a clinical threshold.
A Word from ResRef About the CASAFS
The CASAFS is a brief self-report instrument designed to assess social and adaptive functioning in children and adolescents across four developmentally relevant domains. The original study demonstrated good overall internal consistency and strong evidence for construct validity and factorial validity. It is particularly useful in research and clinical assessment of young people, although additional validation across broader age groups, cultures, and clinical populations was recommended by the original authors.
References
Price, C. S., Spence, S. H., Sheffield, J., & Donovan, C. (2002). The Development and Psychometric Properties of a Measure of Social and Adaptive Functioning for Children and Adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 31(1), 111–122. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3101_13Gonzálvez, C., Inglés, C. J., Martínez-Palau, A., Sanmartín, R., Vicent, M., & García-Fernández, J. M. (2019). Child and Adolescent Social Adaptive Functioning Scale: Factorial Invariance, Latent Mean Differences, and Its Impact on School Refusal Behavior in Spanish Children. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01894