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Child Illness Attitude Assessment3

Child Illness Attitude Assessment Test

In about 8 minutes, it clarifies how parents and relatives are coping with a child’s illness, from anxiety to sense of control. It helps clinicians spot support needs fast and guide focused family care.

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Questions: 408 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

15,419 views

930 completions

790 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

8/30

Activity Restriction Control (ARC)

Measures the extent to which parents attempt to restrict and manage the child’s activity during illness.

Low restriction

Balanced control

High restriction

-30 – -1: Low restriction | 0 – 15: Balanced control | 16 – 30: High restriction

A score of 8 suggests a balanced tendency to set activity limits during the illness without imposing maximal restrictions.

example score

0/30

Nosognosia (N)

Measures how accurately a parent perceives and understands the severity of the child’s illness, from underestimation to exaggeration.

Underestimates severity

Balanced perception

Overestimates severity

-30 – -1: Underestimates severity | 0: Balanced perception | 1 – 30: Overestimates severity

A score of 0 suggests a balanced perception of the child’s illness severity without clear under- or overestimation.

example score

-17/30

Anxiety (A)

This scale measures the degree of anxious reaction and worry a family member experiences in response to a child's illness.

Anxiety denied / suppressed

Relatively neutral

Pronounced anxiety

-30 – -1: Anxiety denied / suppressed | 0: Relatively neutral | 1 – 30: Pronounced anxiety

A score of -17 falls in the anxiety denied/suppressed range, suggesting the person reports little worry about the child's illness, which may reflect a neutral stance or reduced awareness of anxious feelings.

example score

-28/30

Internality (I)

Internality reflects whether parents perceive control over the child’s illness as mainly their own responsibility (internal) or as determined by external factors (external).

Internal control

Mixed/neutral control

External control

-30 – -1: Internal control | 0: Mixed/neutral control | 1 – 30: External control

A score of -28 falls in the Internal control range, indicating the parent tends to feel personally responsible and able to influence the situation rather than viewing it as outside their control.

example score

-6/30

General Tension (GT)

Measures the overall level of psychological tension in the family related to the child’s illness across the whole questionnaire.

Lower tension

Elevated tension

-30 – -1: Lower tension | 0 – 30: Elevated tension

A score of -6 falls in the Lower tension range, suggesting the situation is currently experienced with comparatively less overall strain.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Parents of ill children

46%OF USERS

Mothers and fathers use it to understand their stress, sense of control, and how the diagnosis is affecting family life.

Clinical psychologists and counselors

32%OF USERS

Specialists administer it to quickly assess family attitudes toward a child’s illness and plan targeted psychological support.

Close relatives caregivers

22%OF USERS

Grandparents or other involved relatives take it to clarify their worries, involvement, and role in supporting the child and parents.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Activity Control (AC)

Average

12.3

Normal range

3.5 — 21

min.

-30

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Noosognosia (N)

Average

-8.4

Normal range

-19.2 — 2.5

min.

-30

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Anxiety (A)

Average

10.2

Normal range

1.9 — 18.6

min.

-30

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Internality (I)

Average

-13.9

Normal range

-24.4 — -3.4

min.

-30

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

General Tension Scale (GTS)

Average

-0.2

Normal range

-7.8 — 7.4

min.

-30

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly disagree
- Generally disagree
- Disagree more than agree
- Agree more than disagree
- Generally agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Generally disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Generally agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Generally disagree
- Disagree more than agree
- Agree more than disagree
- Generally agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 40 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Methodology for Diagnosing Attitudes Toward a Child's Illness, DOBR Test

Child Illness Attitude Assessment Test - Symptoms and Signs

attitude towards illness

pediatrics

This instrument assesses caregivers’ attitudes and emotional responses to a child’s illness in order to inform clinical formulation and supportive intervention planning. The Child Illness Attitude Assessment is completed as a self-report questionnaire and is designed for use in clinical, counseling, or research contexts.

It contains 40 items and typically requires about 8 minutes to complete. Content coverage commonly includes appraisals of controllability or responsibility, illness-related worry, perceived understanding of the condition, activity regulation within the family, and overall strain associated with the child’s health status. The Child Illness Attitude Assessment has been attributed to S. Rachman and G. C. L. Davey and is interpreted using standardized scoring procedures consistent with the measure’s documentation.

Author: G. C. L. Davey, S. Rachman

Literature: Kazak, A. E., Rourke, M. T., & Navsaria, N. V. Families and other systems in pediatric psychology. In M. C. Roberts (Ed.), Handbook of pediatric psychology. Guilford Press. 2014.