In the realm of psychiatry, a myriad of questionnaires have emerged for measuring psychiatric illness dimensionally. However, the vast majority are based upon the presence or absence of problematic behaviors and symptoms. This focus limits the ability to distinguish individuals because they focus on one end of the distribution (i.e., the pathological trait range). It is also problematic for epidemiological and neurobiological (e.g., genetics, imaging) research studies attempting to model behaviors across a broad population.
Typical rating scales use 0 to 3 ratings of symptoms that define abnormal behavior (weaknesses):
- 0=Not at all
- 1=Occasionally
- 2=Often
- 3=All the time
The Extended Strengths and Weaknesses Assessment of Normal Behavior (E-SWAN) has been developed in order to capture variance associated with both strengths and weaknesses to generate a near-normal distribution of ratings in epidemiological samples. The E-SWAN is a collaborative effort focused on the extension the framework of Strengths and Weakness of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behavior (SWAN) (Swanson et al, 2000 and Swanson et al., 2012), a preferred measure for measuring positive attention and impulse regulation behaviors that measures more variance at the adaptive end of ADHD symptoms.
The current focus is on the extension of the SWAN framework to a broader range of disorders. Questionnaires have been developed for major depressive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). This website is designed to freely provide these questionnaires as well as to accept feedback. Comments on the questionnaires are welcome and encouraged. In addition, PDF files of each questionnaire are also available for download.
E-SWAN Team:
- Lindsay Alexander, MPH (Child Mind Institute)
- Giovanni Salum, MD, PhD (Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul)
- Michael Milham, MD, PhD (Child Mind Institute)
- James Swanson, PhD (University of California, Irvine)