Genero, N.P., Lozano, A., Sanchez, M., & Cano, M. (Submitted, Under Review). The Heads Up Checkup Digital Mental Health & Behavioral Risk Screening System: Clinical Inter-Rater Reliability for Identifying Youth in Crisis. Preprint Abstract: Authorea. June 23, 2023 (DOI: 10.22541/au.168750046.67721198/v1).
Genero, N.P. & Lozano, A. (In preparation). Preliminary Validation of The Heads Up Checkup (HCU) Mental Health and Behavioral Digital Screening Universal System for Schools– Adolescent Version.
Genero, N.P., Cano, M., Brookhart, S.K., Chavarro, R., Amaro, H., & Eaton, M.J. (2022). Heads Up Checkup (HCU): A Digital Prototype for Brief Assessment of Mental Health Risk among Adolescents. Heads Up Checkup, Inc., Anaheim Hills, California.
Genero, N.P., Brookhart, S. K., Harshbarger, J., Eaton, M. J. (2021). An Evaluation of the HUCU Priority Index (HPI) and Major Depressive Disorder Subscale Among Adolescents: Establishing Reliability and Predictive Risk Criteria. Technical Report #1, Heads Up Checkup, Inc., Anaheim Hills, California.
Genero, N.P., Brookhart, S. K., Harshbarger, J., Eaton, M. J. (2021). The Efficacy of the HUCU Online Adaptive Screening System for Assessing Anxiety among Non-Clinical Community Samples of Adolescents. Technical Report #2, Heads Up Checkup, Inc., Anaheim Hills, California.
Heads Up! Using a Mobile Platform for Division II Student-Athlete Mental Health Screening
Heads Up Checkup has strong initial reliability (a = .77), sensitivity (77%), and specificity (82%). Heads Up Checkup can consistently and repeatedly be used to screen for mental health (i.e., reliability), the tool really does screen for and can detect mental health risk (i.e., sensitivity), and it can determine no or low risk or a negative result (i.e., specificity) https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2023.2282191
Our reliability and validity documentation efforts are focused on HCU’s predictive efficacy. How well does the screening tool identify/predict individuals who are AT RISK of significant mental health symptoms and related actions – such as suicide?
Interrater reliability: HPI is shown to be clinically valid. Two independent licensed clinical psychologists reviewed a random sample of thirty (N=30) HCU clinical screening reports (CSRs) of 13–14-year-old adolescents drawn from a larger sample (N=846) enrolled in a public middle school in California. Results showed strong inter-rater agreement (Fleiss kappa = .93) between clinician ratings and the screener’s priority risk index (HPI) score in identifying students “in crisis.” (DOI: 10.22541/au.168750046.67721198/v1; under editorial review)
Inter-item reliability: Analyses based on a Fall 2023 screening from a sample of (n=870) middle school students evaluated the inter-item reliability of the HPI sub-scales. All reliability coefficients exceeded the .70 threshold for adequate internal consistency. Genero, N.P. & Lozano, A. (In preparation). Preliminary Validation of The Heads Up Checkup (HCU) Mental Health and Behavioral Digital Screening Universal System for Schools– Adolescent Version.
Convergence validity: Correlations between the HPI, PEARLS, CRAFFT, and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Short Version (PSC-17) were assessed to demonstrate convergence validity. The strongest correlation was found between the HPI and the PSC-17 (r=0.61). Additional analyses revealed that the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17) mean scores were consistent with the low, moderate, and “in crisis” HPI risk categories. The convergence of the HPI and PSC-17, an established screening metric used in primary care settings, supports the validity of the HPI risk classifications. Genero, N.P. & Lozano, A. (In preparation). Preliminary Validation of The Heads Up Checkup (HCU) Mental Health and Behavioral Digital Screening Universal System for Schools– Adolescent Version.