The following guidelines facilitate responsible and accurate interpretation of the CAARS 2 results and help qualified users avoid common interpretive errors. These guidelines funnel from a broad overview into important details, before finishing with the integration of both top-down and bottom-up perspectives. This same sequence is mirrored in the CAARS 2 reports.

The interpretation sequence begins with an examination of the Response Style Analysis to provide context for interpreting the results and to facilitate judgments regarding the validity of ratings. This step is followed by considering Associated Clinical Concern Items that may warrant prompt attention. Next is an examination of core and associated features of ADHD through a survey of the CAARS 2 Scale Scores, including examinations of the Content Scales, DSM Symptom Scales, and the CAARS 2–ADHD Index. Next comes careful consideration of important item-level information, including items contributing to the CAARS 2 Scales, the Impairment & Functional Outcome Items, and the Additional Questions, to clarify the basis for scale score elevations. Finally, these layers are integrated within a single rater as well as across ratings (e.g., integrating Self-Report with Observer results, considering more than one observer’s ratings, or across different points in time such as when monitoring progress). As a whole, this interpretation sequence provides a template for understanding CAARS 2 results. Although likely to be effective in most contexts, these guidelines are not intended to represent the only valid approach or a rigid prescription for the interpretive process. Individual users may find that they prefer to adopt an alternative sequence of steps, either as their common practice or to best meet the needs of particular cases.

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Figure 4.1. CAARS 2 Single-Rater Report: Overview