The Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS): final development and validation

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are a barrier to treatment development.
• Existing assessment tools have measurement concerns.
• The National Institute of Mental Health recommended developing new measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the final development and validation results of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS).
• To assess the structure, reliability, and validity of the CAINS.
• To provide an empirically supported measure for negative symptoms.

Main Methods:

• The CAINS was developed using an iterative, empirical approach.
• A large, diverse sample of 162 outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder was used.
• Multiple analytic techniques assessed CAINS structure, reliability, and validity.

Main Results:

• A 13-item CAINS was finalized, with two scales: expression and motivation/pleasure.
• The CAINS demonstrated good internal consistency, test-retest stability, and interrater agreement.
• Convergent and discriminant validity were strong, and CAINS scales related to real-world functioning.

Conclusions:

• The CAINS is a brief, comprehensive, and empirically validated measure of negative symptoms.
• The CAINS is suitable for diverse research and clinical contexts.
• This tool can advance the development of treatments for negative symptoms.