Outcome assessment for children and adolescents:: Psychometric validation of the youth outcome questionnaire 30.1 (Y-OQ®-30.1)

Due to the rising cost of mental health care, increasing numbers of mental health care facilities require outcome management programs to monitor the cost-effectiveness of treatments delivered to youth. These programs require outcome instruments that are sensitive to change, psychometrically sound and easy to administer, score and interpret. This study uses community and outpatient youth samples to investigate the psychometric quality of the Y-OQ((R))-30.1, an outcome tracking and screening instrument specifically designed to meet this need. The Y-OQ((R))-30.1 is a single instrument that can be used by parents or adolescents to assess observed behavior and symptom change in youth undergoing mental health treatment. Results show the Y-OQ((R))-30.1 possesses adequate levels of internal consistency, test-retest and inter-rater reliability, and can detect statistically and clinically meaningful differences between community and clinical samples. Clinical implications of the results are discussed, along with directions for future research. Copyright (R) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.