> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# RCADS parent report — scoring and T-scores
> How to score Chorpita's 47-item parent-report measure for children 6-18, what the six subscales cover, and how to read the T-score cutoffs for anxiety and depression.
When a parent walks in worried that their 9-year-old "won't go to
school" or their 14-year-old "barely talks anymore," the RCADS gives you
a structured way to separate what's going on. Forty-seven short
statements rated by the parent, scored across the six DSM-IV anxiety and
depression disorders that show up most often in children.
## What it measures
Six subscales, all parent-rated, covering the child's behaviour as the
parent observes it:
* **Separation Anxiety Disorder** (SAD)
* **Social Phobia** (SP)
* **Generalized Anxiety Disorder** (GAD)
* **Panic Disorder** (PD)
* **Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder** (OCD)
* **Major Depressive Disorder** (MDD)
This is the dominant comprehensive pediatric anxiety and depression
measure used in clinical practice — broad enough to surface comorbidity,
specific enough to point at where to start.
## When to use it
* Intake when the presenting concern is anxiety, depression, or
"something's off" and you have a parent informant available
* After 8-12 sessions to track subscale-level change
* To prepare for a parent-clinician conversation about which symptom
cluster is dominating — useful when the parent has a different read
than the child
## How parents fill it out
About 10 minutes. Plain wording — "My child worries about things",
"Nothing is much fun for my child anymore". Comfortable for parents
without a clinical background.
## How Rivet scores it
Each item rated 0-3 (Never / Sometimes / Often / Always).
### Six subscales
| Subscale | Items | Range |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----- |
| Separation Anxiety (SAD) | 5, 9, 17, 18, 33, 45, 46 | 0-21 |
| Social Phobia (SP) | 4, 7, 8, 12, 20, 30, 32, 38, 43 | 0-27 |
| Generalized Anxiety (GAD) | 1, 13, 22, 27, 35 | 0-15 |
| Panic Disorder (PD) | 3, 14, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36, 39, 41 | 0-27 |
| OCD | 10, 16, 23, 31, 42, 44 | 0-18 |
| Major Depression (MDD) | 2, 6, 11, 15, 19, 21, 25, 29, 40, 47 | 0-30 |
### Totals
* **Total Anxiety** — sum of the five anxiety subscales
* **Total Depression** — the MDD subscale (10 items, range 0-30)
### Raw scores vs T-scores
The canonical RCADS interpretation uses **T-scores** converted from raw
sums by age and sex (T ≥65 = borderline clinical, T ≥70 = clinical).
The conversion lives in age/sex stratified tables.
**Rivet surfaces the raw-sum subscales.** For decisions that hinge on
the canonical T-score (e.g. diagnostic determinations, research
reporting), run the raw scores through the conversion tool at
rcads.ucla.edu. The raw subscales are useful for tracking direction of
change across sessions even without the T-score wrapper.
**Item 37** ("My child thinks about death") is flagged as sensitive
and surfaces its own signal. Any endorsement above "Never" warrants
clinical follow-up regardless of how the totals land. To keep this
signal visible, Rivet reports item 37 as a separate death-thoughts
subscale rather than rolling it into a GAD total — so the GAD subscale
here scores 5 items instead of the canonical 6, and Total Anxiety
sums 36 items instead of 37. If you need the canonical GAD or Total
Anxiety T-score for a report, sum item 37 back in by hand.
## Which variant Rivet uses
Rivet uses the **parent-report 6-18 variant**. The self-report
(child) variant and the 25-item RCADS-25 short form aren't in the
library.
## RCADS vs SDQ
The RCADS goes deep on anxiety and depression; the
[SDQ](/clinical-templates/child/sdq-self) goes wide on everything.
Six subscales — separation anxiety, social phobia, generalized anxiety,
panic, OCD, and depression — is what makes the RCADS worth its
forty-seven items: it distinguishes between anxiety presentations rather
than reporting one anxiety number. If you already know mood or anxiety is
the question, this is the instrument.
If you don't, the SDQ's twenty-five items cover conduct, hyperactivity and
peer relationships as well, and will catch difficulties the RCADS isn't
looking for.
They also come from different people. This is the parent-report form for
ages 6–18; the SDQ here is the young person's own report for ages 11–17.
Running both, where age allows, gives you two accounts of the same child —
and where they disagree, that is usually worth a conversation rather than
an average.
## Is it free to use?
**Yes.** Free clinical use, per rcads.ucla.edu.
## Citation
Chorpita, B. F., Yim, L., Moffitt, C., Umemoto, L. A., & Francis, S. E.
(2000). Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in
children: a revised child anxiety and depression scale. *Behaviour
Research and Therapy,* 38(8), 835-855.
Free clinical use per rcads.ucla.edu.
## Related articles
Briefer adolescent screen for a wide-angle read before going deep
with the RCADS.
Direct adolescent self-report on depression — pairs well with the
parent-rated RCADS MDD subscale.
How item 37 surfaces in the conversation.