The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) is a collection of psychiatric diagnostic criteria and symptom rating scales published in 1978. There are three versions of the schedule, the regular SADS, the lifetime version (SADS-L) and a version for measuring change in symptomology (SADS-C). Although largely replaced by diagnostic criteria such as DSM-IV, and specific mood rating scales, SADS is still used in some research papers today.

Diagnoses covered

The diagnoses covered by the interview include schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

, schizoaffective disorder

Schizoaffective disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by recurring episodes of elevated or depressed mood, or of simultaneously elevated and depressed mood, that alternate with, or occur together with, distortions in perception.Schizoaffective disorder...

, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...

, anxiety disorders and a limited number of other diagnoses.

Relationship with the Research Diagnostic Criteria

The SADS was developed by the same group of rearchers as the Research Diagnostic Criteria

Research Diagnostic Criteria

The Research Diagnostic Criteria are a collection of psychiatric diagnostic criteria published in late 1970s . As psychiatric diagnoses widely varied especially between the USA and Europe, the purpose of the criteria were allow diagnoses to be consistent in psychiatric research...

(RDC). While the RDC is a list of diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disorders, the SADS interview allows diagnoses based on RDC criteria to be made, and also rates subject's symptoms and level of functioning.