Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA)

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA), developed in 1986 by A. Angold, A. Cox, M Prendergast, M. Rutter, and E. Simonoff, is a parent and child interviewer-based structured diagnostic interview for use with children aged 9 to 17. The CAPA offers modules for the diagnosis of the full range of common psychiatric disorders.

The CAPA has been updated repeatedly by our team since 1986 and has been updated with DSM-5 criteria.

CAPA Documents

The CAPA core modules versions contain only the diagnostic variables necessary for the diagnosis of the following disorders: anxiety disorders (GAD, SAD, social anxiety, specific phobia, agoraphobia and panic disorder); depression; ADHD; ODD/conduct; and incapacity/impairment.

The following documents are for review only. Formal training is required to administer the CAPA (see details below).

Training

Formal training is required to administer the CAPA. Learn more about training

Citations

  • Angold A, Prendergast M, Cox A, Harrington R, Simonoff E, and Rutter M (1995) The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA). Psychological Medicine, 25:739-753. Article available in PDF format. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press. Download the article.
  • Angold A and Costello EJ (1995) A test-retest reliability study of child-reported psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA-C). Psychological Medicine, 25:755-762. Article available in PDF format. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press. Download the article.
  • Costello EJ, Angold A, March J & Fairbank J (1998) Life events and post-traumatic stress: The development of a new measure for children and adolescents. Psychological Medicine, 28: 1275-1288.
  • Angold A and Costello EJ (2000) The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, volume 39:39-48.
  • Wamboldt MZ, Wasmboldt FS, Gavin L & McTaggart S (2001) A parent-child relationship scale derived from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40:945-953.

See our other Instruments

Contact Us

If you need any additional information or would like to administer the CAPA, please contact Brian Small at brian.small@duke.edu.