Adolescent care: 15 questionnaires and rating scales

The SIQ-JR is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the frequency and intensity of suicidal thoughts in adolescents aged 12 to 18. It allows psychologists to detect the presence and severity of suicidal ideation and supports clinical decisions regarding the safety and follow-up of adolescent patients.

The Youth Self-Report (YSR) is part of the ASEBA system and is intended to assess social competencies and behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents aged 11 to 18. It gathers information directly from the adolescent, providing a valuable self-report to complement parent and school observations.

The UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5 is a self-report questionnaire for identifying and assessing the severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents following one or more traumatic experiences. It is explicitly based on the DSM-5 criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder and provides a quantitative estimate of symptomatology, making it a suitable tool for screening as well as for monitoring in clinical practice and research.

The SDQ is a behavioral screening tool designed to assess strengths and difficulties in children and adolescents (aged 4 to 17). This questionnaire is completed by parents or guardians. It covers several dimensions: emotional symptoms, conduct, hyperactivity/attention, peer relationships and prosocial behavior.

The SCREEN is a questionnaire designed for the early identification of anxious school refusal in middle school students. It makes it possible to identify at-risk situations and to quickly refer for a more in-depth assessment when necessary. It is quick to complete and aims to detect the problem both among the students themselves and through the parents' point of view.

The School Burnout Inventory (SBI) is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the level of burnout students feel in relation to their school experience. It specifically measures symptoms of exhaustion, cynicism toward school, and feelings of incompetence, adapted to the school context. It allows psychologists to identify students experiencing high levels of school stress in order to target school burnout prevention interventions.

The CABI is an observer-rated questionnaire completed by parents to identify and quantify a wide range of emotional, behavioral and functional difficulties in children and adolescents. The 2.0 parent version covers 11 domains that can be used together or separately: sluggish cognitive tempo, anxiety, depression, inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, oppositional defiant disorder, limited prosocial emotions, social impairment, peer rejection, social withdrawal and academic impairment. Its modular format, precise response anchors and short administration time make it a useful tool for clinical screening, initial assessment and progress monitoring.

The K-SADS-PL is a semi-structured diagnostic interview used to assess current and past episodes of psychopathology in children and adolescents, combining information from the young person, the parent(s), and clinical observation. The core consists of a screening interview covering 82 symptoms across 20 diagnostic areas, after which supplements are administered based on positive responses. The tool is particularly useful for exploring mood, anxiety, psychotic, behavioral, and attention disorders, as well as several other psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents.

The DEP-ADO is a screening tool for quickly assessing the presence of problematic alcohol and drug use in adolescents. It facilitates the identification of young people who are at risk or have substance-related difficulties in order to guide the appropriate intervention or follow-up.

The CRAFFT is a short screening tool, mainly used by health professionals to identify the risks related to substance use (alcohol, drugs) in adolescents. It aims to identify risk behaviors and to guide early intervention if needed.

The EDE-Q-A is an adapted version of the EDE-Q questionnaire, specifically designed to assess the frequency and severity of behaviors and concerns related to eating disorders in adolescents. It provides a reliable self-assessment of the main eating disorder symptoms according to DSM criteria, thereby supporting screening, treatment monitoring, and clinical research in young populations.

The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) is a self-report tool that measures a person's perception of parental behaviors, usually on the 'care' and 'overprotection' dimensions, during the first 16 years of their life. The PBI is used to explore the influence of early parental relationships on later psychological development.

The SDSC for ages 4 to 16 is a screening questionnaire for sleep disorders in children and adolescents, completed by a parent or caregiver based on observations over the past six months. The validated French version has 25 items and explores five clinically useful dimensions: insomnia, parasomnias, nocturnal breathing problems, nonrestorative sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness. The tool is particularly relevant in psychology, child psychiatry, and pediatric consultations, and in identifying difficulties associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and with emotional, attentional, or behavioral difficulties.

The Child Attachment Interview (CAI) is a semi-structured interview designed to assess attachment patterns in children aged 7 to 15. It gathers the child's representations of their attachment relationships through narratives and answers to questions about situations of closeness, separation, and comfort with parental figures.

The CBQ is a screening questionnaire completed by a parent or a close caregiver to identify a profile consistent with pediatric bipolar disorder. It explores 65 emotional and behavioral manifestations, including mood lability, excitability, sleep disturbances, distractibility, irritability, impulsivity, aggression, grandiosity, risk-taking behaviors, certain anxiety symptoms and unusual perceptual experiences. Used in clinical practice and research, it helps objectively document symptom severity and several dimensions of functional impairment. Its main value lies in early detection and in guiding the diagnostic evaluation.