College Adjustment Scale (CAS)
By: William D. Anton, PhD, and James R. Reed, Ph.D.
Purpose: Identify psychological and adjustment problems experienced by college students
For: Students 17-30 years
Administration: Individual or group
Time: 15-20 minutes
Description
This comprehensive screening instrument identifies problems frequently experienced by college students. Primarily intended for use in college counseling and guidance centers, the CAS will prove helpful in any clinical setting where college students are clients.
The CAS assesses 9 areas of adjustment difficulties: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, self-esteem problems, interpersonal problems, family problems, academic problems, and career problems. Students rate the 108 CAS items on a 4-point scale ranging from false, not at all true to very true. Responses are entered on a carbonless, self-scoring answer sheet. Scores are then easily transferred to the profile area. Scoring and profiling takes only 3-5 minutes.
Scales that affects CAS
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Suicidal Ideation
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Substance Abuse
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Self-esteem Problems
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Interpersonal Problems
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Family Problems
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Academic Problems
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Career Problems
Reliability/Validity
Normative data were collected from 1,146 students enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the United States. The sample reflects U.S. college enrollment proportions for gender and ethnic group. Although the normative sample included students ages 17-65, the CAS is intended primarily for students ages 17-30. Internal consistency reliability coefficients for the 9 scales range from .80-.92 with a mean of .86. Five studies examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the CAS and its ability to distinguish students in counseling from those not in counseling. Results support the validity of the CAS as a measure of college adjustment problems.