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ERIC Number: EJ1460750
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3432
Available Date: 2024-03-05
Psychometric Assessment of the Rett Syndrome Caregiver Assessment of Symptom Severity (RCASS)
Melissa Raspa1; Angela Gwaltney1; Carla Bann1; Jana von Hehn2; Timothy A. Benke3; Eric D. Marsh4; Sarika U. Peters5; Amitha Ananth6; Alan K. Percy6; Jeffrey L. Neul5
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v55 n3 p997-1009 2025
Rett syndrome is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that affects about 1 in 10,000 females. Clinical trials of disease modifying therapies are on the rise, but there are few psychometrically sound caregiver-reported outcome measures available to assess treatment benefit. We report on a new caregiver-reported outcome measure, the Rett Caregiver Assessment of Symptom Severity (RCASS). Using data from the Rett Natural History Study (n = 649), we examined the factor structure, using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and the reliability and validity of the RCASS. The four-factor model had the best overall fit, which covered movement, communication, behavior, and Rett-specific symptoms. The RCASS had moderate internal consistency. Strong face validity was found with age and mutation type, and convergent validity was established with other similar measures, including the Revised Motor-Behavior Assessment Scale, Clinical Severity Scale, Clinical Global Impression Scale, and the Child Health Questionnaire. These data provide initial evidence that the RCASS is a viable caregiver-outcome measure for use in clinical trials in Rett syndrome. Future work to assess sensitivity to change and other measures of reliability, such as test--retest and inter-rater agreement, are needed.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: U54HD061222; U54HD083211; HD083181; UL1TR000445; UL1TR002243
Author Affiliations: 1RTI International, Research Triangle Park, USA; 2Rett Syndrome Research Trust, Trumbull, USA; 3Children’s Hospital Colorado and University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, USA; 4University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA; 5Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA; 6University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA