Table 1.

Quality Assessment Tool Adapted From National Institutes of Health¹⁴

Were the exposure measures (independent variables) clearly defined, valid, reliable, and implemented consistently across all study participants?	Yes: 1 No: 0
Was the exposure measure objective (ie, not self-report)	Yes: 1 No: 0
Were the outcome measures (dependent variables) clearly defined, valid, reliable, and implemented consistently across all study participants?	Yes: 1 No: 0
Was the outcome assessed objectively?	Yes or by blinded assessors: 2 By another individual, eg, parent: 1 No, ie, self-report: 0
Were key potential confounding variables measured and adjusted statistically for their impact on the relationship between exposure(s) and outcome(s)?	No or unclear: 0 Some attempt, eg, SES, demographics: 1 Reasonable or comprehensive, eg, baseline depression for longitudinal studies, other exposure to stress or adversity, negative affectivity: 2
Is a longitudinal design with exposure measured before outcome?	Yes: 1 No: 0
Longitudinal only
Was loss to follow-up after base line 20% or less?	Yes: 1 No: 0
Were the exposure(s) assessed more than once over time?	Yes: 1 No: 0

Note: Exposure measures indicate independent variables. SES = socioeconomic status.