Children's Global Assessment Scale

Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) is a scale used in the field of psychiatry to measure the overall functioning of children and adolescents under the age of 18. It was developed by Patricia Schaffer, M.D., and her colleagues at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in 1983. The CGAS is a numeric scale (1 through 100) used by mental health clinicians and doctors to rate the general functioning of children under care.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The term "Children's Global Assessment Scale" is derived from its purpose. The word "Children's" refers to the target population for the scale, "Global" refers to the comprehensive nature of the assessment, and "Assessment Scale" refers to the method of quantifying the child's overall functioning.

Use[edit | edit source]

The CGAS is used to provide a single global rating for children and adolescents, based on a scale from 1 to 100. A higher score indicates better functioning. The scale is divided into ten-point increments, with each increment associated with specific behaviors and abilities. The CGAS is used in both clinical practice and research to track changes in the child's overall functioning over time.

Related Terms[edit | edit source]

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF): A numeric scale (0 through 100) used by mental health clinicians and doctors to subjectively rate the social, occupational, and psychological functioning of adults.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM): The standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States.

References[edit | edit source]

Children's Global Assessment Scale Resources
Need Help Finding a Doctor? Need help finding a doctor or specialist anywhere in the world? Explore our world directory. WikiMD's DocFinder can assist you in locating millions of physicians.	Medical Knowledge Access the latest research - Most recent articles Ongoing trials.