Measurement Repository

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is a 41-item self-report screening tool (with parallel caregiver form) for 9-18-year old youth that quantifies symptoms across five DSM-aligned domains – panic/somatic, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, and school phobia. Responses are rated on a 3-point scale ranging from 0 (“not true or hardly ever true”) to 2 (“very true or often true”). Item sums yield subscale scores and a total distress score. Higher scores indicate greater likelihood and severity of clinically significant anxiety, guiding decisions to refer for diagnostic evaluation.

This self-report measure screens for suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors. It asks participants whether they have had serious thoughts about being better off dead or hurting themselves, whether they have ever attempted suicide, and how recently these thoughts or actions occurred. The purpose of the measure is to identify individuals at risk for self-harm and inform timely intervention strategies. Key outcomes include the prevalence, frequency, and recency of suicidal ideation and attempts, helping providers assess risk levels and determine appropriate follow-up actions or referrals.

The Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics-Youth (SASH-Y) is a 12-item measure that assesses the acculturation levels of adolescents. Developed by Barona & Miller (1994) as an extension of the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (Marín et al., 1987), the SASH-Y captures the specific cultural dynamics of adolescence. The measure incorporates two key domains: Ethnic Loyalty (language use and preference) and Cultural Heritage (peer associations and media preferences). Items 1–9 focus on language usage (e.g., Spanish vs. English, or Maya vs. Spanish in adapted studies), while items 10–12 assess ethnic identity (e.g., Hispanic vs. White, or Yucatec Maya vs. non-Yucatec Maya). The SASH-Y emphasizes the adolescent’s context of family, peers, and cultural influences, making it distinct from the adult version. In Indigenous contexts, such as Yucatec Maya youth, the scale has been adapted to reflect heritage language and cultural identity in relation to dominant Mexican culture.

Several Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) measure have been developed to assess multiple dimensions of wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (link to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). This particular SEWB measure was created through consultation with Aboriginal psychologists and a review of regional Aboriginal risk factor literature. It captures protective and risk factors related to cultural identification, cultural knowledge, family and community connectivity, positive wellbeing, life experiences, and life stressors.

This Spirituality Measure assesses the importance of spirituality in daily life and its role in guiding personal choices. It was originally developed for adolescents to capture a broad sense of spiritual belief and engagement, including purpose, meaning, and the role of spirituality in decision-making. Items ask participants about agreement with statements related to spirituality (e.g., “spirituality is important in my life,” “my spirituality helps guide the way I live”).

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief behavioral screening tool designed to assess emotional and behavioral functioning in children and adolescents. It includes 25 items covering five domains: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. The SDQ is available in self-report and informant-report (e.g., caregiver, teacher) formats. The extended version includes an “impact supplement” that captures chronicity, distress, functional impairment, and perceived burden. Responses can be used to generate individual scale scores and total scores.

The Te Hoe Nuku Roa Cultural Identity Measure is a validated instrument designed to assess Māori cultural identity, with a focus on both a sense of belonging and active participation in Māori cultural life. It was developed as part of the Te Hoe Nuku Roa study and provides a culturally grounded way of quantifying Māori identity and engagement (Stevenson, 2004). Importantly, the measure is not intended to classify “who a person is” but instead reflects the extent of an individual’s participation in te ao Māori (the Māori world) at the time of assessment. The instrument has been used in research to explore links between cultural identity and health outcomes, including alcohol use among older Māori (Herbert & Stephens, 2015).

The World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) is a questionnaire that screens for all levels of problem or risky substance use in adults. A risk score can be provided for each substance, and scores are grouped into ‘low risk’, ‘moderate risk’ or ‘high risk’. It has been validated in youth and adolescents, as well as adults. This adapted screening measure is used to assess both lifetime and problematic (past month) substance use among study participants. Questions in this measure ask about alcohol use, illegal drug use, use of legal drugs not as prescribed, smoking/vaping, and injection drug use. Questions about past month substance use are included in a calculation to assign a risk score for the respondent.

The Mayi Kuwayu Questionnaire is part of the Mayi Kuwayu: National Study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing. It was developed to measure cultural determinants of health and wellbeing as defined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples themselves. The indicators capture six overarching cultural domains: connection to country; beliefs & knowledge; language; family, kinship, & community; cultural expression & continuity; and self-determination & leadership. Items were generated and refined through extensive consultation with communities and focus groups, and represent a culturally grounded approach to understanding how culture influences health and wellbeing.

The MYST Scale was created by McGill researchers in partnership with an educator and a community leader from Kawawachikamach to assess students’ levels of identification with Native culture in this community. The instrument consists of 11 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Items focus on identification with either a First Nations or non-First Nations way of life.

The Multi-Dimensional Model of Māori Identity and Cultural Engagement (MMM-ICE) is a culturally grounded, self-report measure designed to capture the complexity and diversity of Māori identity. The original version (2010) assessed six dimensions, including pride and positive evaluation of being Māori, awareness of colonization and social justice issues, confidence and competence in Māori cultural practices and customs, spiritual connection to land and ancestors, understanding of self in relation to whānau and community, and beliefs about what constitutes “authentic” Māori identity. Later revisions expanded the measure to include additional aspects of identity: the MMM-ICE2 (2015) introduced a Perceived Appearance subscale, capturing how individuals evaluate their physical appearance as signaling Māori ancestry, and the MMM-ICE3 (2020) added a Whānau Efficacy subscale, reflecting confidence in fulfilling family and kinship obligations. Together, these subscales provide a multidimensional perspective on Māori identity and cultural engagement, allowing researchers to explore how cultural identity relates to health, well-being, and social outcomes.

The Sulliman Scale of Social Interest (SSSI) is a self-report attitude scale designed to measure Adler’s concept of social interest (Stone & Newbauer, 2010). The SSSI is a 50-item dichotomous (true/false) test that includes three scales and two subscales (J. R. Sulliman, personal communication, April 6, 2015). The three scales are Total Score, Relationally Destructive Scale, and Inconsistent Response Scale. The two subscales are Subscale 1: “Concern for and trust in others” (20-items) and Subscale 2 “Confidence in oneself and optimism in one’s view of the world” (15 items).