• Demographic Characteristics of the Normative Sample
  • Age and Gender
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Region
  • Education Level
  • Clinical Status

Demographic Characteristics of the Normative Sample

The following section describes features of the individuals being rated (i.e., those completing the Self-Report form and those being rated by Observers). For the CAARS 2 Observer, the demographic characteristics of the raters are also described, along with variables characterizing the relationship between the observers and the individuals being rated (see appendix J).

A total of 2,640 individuals were included in the Normative Sample (N = 1,320 each for Self-Report and Observer) and were used to generate norms for the CAARS 2. The CAARS 2 Self-Report and Observer Normative Samples each comprised 1,200 respondents from the U.S. and 120 respondents from Canada; this sample size reflects the ratio of the total U.S. population to the total Canadian population (10:1). The Normative Sample was collected to match the demographic characteristics of each respective country. The target demographic characteristics of the U.S. portion of the Normative Sample were based on the 2018 American Community Survey (American Community Survey; United States Census Bureau, 2019), whereas the target demographic characteristics of the Canadian portion of the Normative Sample were based on the 2016 National Census Profile (Statistics Canada, 2017). For each sample, the target demographic variables of age, gender, race/ethnicity, geographic region, education level (EL), and clinical status were collected using a stratified sampling plan to ensure that both the U.S. and Canadian portions of the Normative Sample represented the broader, national populations from which they were drawn.

In addition to these stratification variables, additional demographic characteristics such as marital status, occupational status, student status, and languages spoken were collected to describe the Normative Sample. In terms of marital status, over half of the rated individuals in the Normative Sample were married (50.8% Self-Report, 56.7% Observer), followed by other marital statuses of single (30.8% Self-Report, 26.6% Observer), divorced (10.5% Self-Report, 8.3% Observer), and widowed (6.8% Self-Report, 6.1% Observer). With regard to employment status, a substantial portion of the rated individuals were employed full-time (41.9% Self-Report, 51.6% Observer), fewer were employed part-time (12.0% Self-Report, 10.1% Observer) or were retired (25.5% Self-Report, 24.0% Observer), and the rest of the individuals were unemployed or indicated “Other” for employment status. Fewer than 10% of rated individuals were currently enrolled as students (8.1% Self-Report, 7.1% Observer). Finally, in terms of languages spoken, a large percentage of the rated individuals spoke only English (82.3% Self-Report, 82.1% Observer); the remaining individuals were multilingual (i.e., they spoke English and another language, or multiple languages).

The following sections provide a description of each of the demographic variables used for stratification in the CAARS 2 Combined Gender Normative Samples. Combined Gender norms are the default scoring option for the CAARS 2 (see chapter 3, Administration and Scoring, for details); however, separate Gender Specific norms are also available. A description of the target demographic variables in the CAARS 2 Gender Specific Normative Samples is found in appendix J. For the CAARS 2 Observer Normative Sample, the demographic characteristics of the raters are also described, along with information characterizing the relationship between the rater and the individual being rated (see appendix J).

Age and Gender

The CAARS 2 Self-Report and Observer Normative Samples include ratings collected from adults who were 18 years of age or older. The Self-Report and Observer Report Normative Samples were each collapsed into 7 age bands (i.e., 18–24, 25–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70+ years old, as seen in the tables in this chapter). The age bands were selected based on the observed age trends in scale scores (see Standardization Procedures in this chapter).

Raters were asked to report the sex assigned at birth as well as the self-identified gender (Male, Female, or “Other [please specify]”) of the person being rated. Self-identified gender (rather than sex at birth) was used as the stratification variable. The Normative Samples include a balanced number of ratings between males and females at each age band up to the age of 70 years. From 70 years of age and older, the ratio of male to female individuals was decreased to match the lower percentage of males living into their late adulthood years, as reported by U.S. and Canadian census data. The Combined Gender Normative Sample includes ratings of individuals whose gender identity was “Other” (e.g., gender non-binary, gender fluid, agender; N = 8 in the Self-Report Combined Gender Normative Sample and N = 3 in the Observer Report Combined Gender Normative Sample) as well as ratings of individuals who reported that they currently identify with a gender that was different from the sex assigned at birth (N = 5 for Self-Report and N = 10 for Observer). The distribution of gender by age groups are found in Table 7.1 and Table 7.2.

Race/Ethnicity

For both the CAARS 2 Self-Report and Observer Normative Samples, raters living in the U.S. were asked to identify the race of the individual being rated. Raters were also asked to specify if the individual being rated was of Hispanic, Spanish, or Latinx origin; those who responded “yes” were asked to specify the ethnicity with which the individual being rated most identified. For the purposes of Census matching and for ease of presentation, the following racial/ethnic group labels were used to characterize the U.S. portion of the Normative Sample: Hispanic (includes all individuals who answered “yes” to the Hispanic, Spanish, Latinx origin question), Asian (includes Asian Indian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Other Asian), Black (includes Black or African American), White, and Other (which includes more than one race, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Other). The Hispanic, Spanish, or Latinx subset of the Normative Sample comprised individuals who identified as (a) Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicano (53.1% Self-Report; 61.7% Observer); (b) Puerto Rican (23.2% Self-Report; 15.4% Observer); (c) Cuban (6.8% Self-Report; 5.7% Observer), or (d) of another Hispanic, Latinx, or Spanish origin (e.g., Argentinian, Columbian, Dominican [16.9% Self-Report; 17.1% Observer]).

Individuals from Canada were classified as a visible minority or not a visible minority, consistent with Government of Canada definitions. Individuals included in the visible minority group encompassed persons other than Indigenous Peoples who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in color, such as South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean, and Japanese. Individuals categorized as not a visible minority group includes White, Indigenous persons (such as First Nations, Metis, and/or Inuit), and other groups not identified as Visible Minorities (e.g., Israeli, Italian, Polish, Scottish, or Swedish).

The distribution of race/ethnicity by age group within each country is found in Table 7.3 and Table 7.4. The portion of rated individuals belonging to each racial/ethnic group closely approximated the U.S. and Canadian populations (within 2.5% and 0.7%, respectively).

Region

Raters were asked to provide the state or province of residence of the individual being rated, which was categorized by U.S. Census geographical region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) or by Canadian Census geographical regions (East, Central, West). The distribution of region within each country by age group is found in Table 7.5 for Self-Report and Table 7.6 for Observer. The portion of rated individuals living in each region closely matched the U.S. and Canadian populations (within 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively).

Education Level

For both CAARS 2 rater forms, information about the highest level of education attained by the rated individual was collected. Individuals living in the U.S. were asked to use the following categories to describe the highest level of education achieved by the rated individual: No high school diploma; High school graduate/GED; Some college, no degree; Associate degree; Bachelor’s degree; Graduate or professional degree. Individuals living in Canada were asked to select which of the following described the highest level of education achieved by the individual being rated: No high school certificate, diploma, or degree; Secondary (high) school diploma or equivalency certificate; apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma; College, CEGEP, or other non-university certificate or diploma; University certificate or diploma below bachelor level; Bachelor’s degree; Graduate or professional degree. For ease of interpretation, the U.S. and Canadian levels of education were condensed into five broader classifications: Education Level 1 (EL 1; includes no high school diploma); Education Level 2 (EL 2; includes high school diploma); Education Level 3 (EL 3; includes some college or associate degree); Education Level 4 (EL 4; bachelor’s degree); and Education Level 5 (EL 5; graduate or professional degree).

The distribution of education level within country by age group is found in Table 7.7 for the Self-Report Combined Gender Normative Sample and Table 7.8 for the Observer Combined Gender Normative Sample. The portion of individuals being rated at each EL closely matched the U.S. and Canadian populations (within 1.4% and 3.9%, respectively). Although the relative disparities between the Canadian sample and the Canadian census appear larger than those between the U.S. sample and the U.S. census, this discrepancy was a result of the modest number of individuals within each stratified level of the Canadian sample. These low numbers magnified subtle deviations from the census when reported as a percentage.

Clinical Status

To best reflect the population at large, the CAARS 2 Normative Sample also includes ratings of 92 Self-Report and 87 Observer individuals with a clinical diagnosis, representing 7.0% of the Self-Report Combined Gender Normative Sample and 6.6% of the Observer Combined Gender Normative Sample (note that approximately 30% of the clinical subsets of the Self-Report and Observer Normative Samples include ratings of the same individual being rated by themselves and by an observer). Detailed diagnostic information was provided for individuals with a clinical diagnosis; see chapter 9, Validity, for a description of individuals included in the clinical groups. Individuals were diagnosed with one or more of the following disorders: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and/or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Tables 7.9 and 7.10 show the distribution of the clinical diagnoses within each Normative Sample. Note that the percent of the Normative Sample with a clinical diagnosis for each disorder closely matches the prevalence rates listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR; American Psychological Association, 2022). These cases were included in the Normative Sample to approximate actual general populations, which include individuals both with and without clinical conditions.