Scoring: The MCAS-RL provides several different scores and pieces of information. It provides:
- a list of endorsed problem behaviors
- an Endorsed Problem Behavior Subscore
- for patients who have one or more problem behavior(s) endorsed as Moderate or Severe, additional questions are given. These additional questions provide the following subscales and scores:
- Acuity Subscale
- Behavioral Efficacy Subscale
- Total Score (this is a summation of Acuity and Behavioral Efficacy Subscores)
Section One captures which behavior(s) are endorsed, and if they endorsed as None, Mild, Moderate or Severe. All behaviors endorsed as present are listed. A numeric score is calculated from Section One: Endorsed Problem Behavior Subscore; this is a summation of the behaviors endorsed by severity (Mild=1, Moderate=2, Severe=3). The minimum for the Endorsed Problem Behavior Subscore is 0, the maximum is 42. Note- this subscore is not used to calculate the Total Score, described below.
If one or more behaviors are moderate or severe, the caregiver is administered additional questions. These questions are scored to provide two Subscales, the Acuity Subscale (which measures the dangerousness of the patient's behavior) and the Behavioral Efficacy Subscale (which is a measure of the caregivers’ perceived ability to manage the patient's behavior). The minimum for the Acuity Subscale is 0; the maximum is 24. The minimum for the Behavioral Efficacy Subscale is 0; the maximum is 12. The Acuity and Behavioral Efficacy Subscales are summed to create the Total Score. The Total Score is positively correlated likelihood of crisis. The Total Score has a Crisis Cutoff when the Total Score >=16, suggesting the child is at-risk of a crisis. The minimum for the Total Score is 0; the maximum for the Total Score is 36.
The ranges for the Total Score is as follows:
- Low: 0-10
- Moderate: 10-15
- High: 16 and higher
To view the MCAS-R assessment, and to read more about the scoring, click here.
Description: “The MCAS-R provides complementary information on two critical factors... that can guide treatment planning: 1) mental health acuity and 2) perceived parental efficacy in managing their child [I.e., the patient’s] behavior. Hence, the MCAS-R provides a valuable tool to address these domains in the pursuit of detecting high-risk patients” (Kalb et al., 2022).
The MCAS-R allows for caregivers to identify the presence (and rate the frequency) of 13 behaviors. Two Subscales and a Total Score are also generated when one or more of the behaviors is rated as moderate or severe. Please note, these scores are raw scores, as normative data is not yet available for this assessment.
- The first of these is the Acuity Subscale, which measures the dangerousness of the patient's behavior. The minimum for the Acuity Subscale is 0; the maximum is 24.
- The second of these is the Behavioral Efficacy Subscale which is a measure of the caregivers’ perceived ability to manage the patient's behavior. The minimum for the Behavioral Efficacy Subscale is 0; the maximum is 12.
Our team, in collaboration with the assessment's creator, has made some modifications to the assessment available in the dashboard - the MCAS-RL. These changes are outlined below.
- We have added an additional behavior to Section One, Obsession(s) or Extreme Fixation(s). Examples of Behavior: Talking about or asking for something over and over; Difficult to redirect or switch away from obsession; Extreme fixation seriously interferes with other important activities
- We have added an additional subscore, Endorsed Problem Behavior. This subscore the problems endorsed in Section One; this is a summation of the behaviors endorsed by severity (Mild=1, Moderate=2, Severe=3). Note- this subscore is not used to calculate the Total Score; the calculation for the Total Score remains unchanged from the MCAS-R.
- We have removed Section Two, in which the caregiver identifies the most prevalent of behaviors identified in Section One.
Scoring: The Total Score is a combination of the Acuity and Behavioral Efficacy Subscales; a high total score is associated with a higher likelihood of crisis. The Total Score has a Crisis Cutoff when the Total Score >=16, suggesting the child is at-risk of a crisis. The minimum for the Total Score is 0; the maximum for the Total Score is 36.