Measurement Issues: Depression measures in children and adolescents

Abstract

Background: Since the recognition of youth depression, numerous instruments have been developed, but there is little consensus regarding their use. In recent years, a national programme for outcome measurement has been introduced in the United Kingdom. Method: A pragmatic literature search was conducted to select instruments commonly used to measure depression either in research or as recommended by UK national bodies. Results: 15 depression rating scales were identified. Diagnostic instruments and rating scales are described. Conclusions: Recent large depression trials have produced additional new data, and UK national organisations have made recommendations regarding the implementation of certain instruments. Key Practitioner Message• Our pragmatic review identifies 15 of the most commonly used measures in recent large research trials, UK clinical practice and national guidelines. There is a lack of psychometric studies compared to the number of instruments that have been developed. However, there has been recent progress and increased interest in outcome measurement in UK services.• For treatment monitoring, the clinician-rated CDRS and the self-rated MFQ are brief, have good psychometric properties and a growing evidence-base. They can be readily incorporated into clinical practice to assess depressive symptoms.• There is a need for increased psychometric studies of youth-appropriate instruments, which could translate into improved international guidelines. Further research is needed on the development of cost-effective methods of implementing the use of diagnostic tools in clinical practice

A systematic review of pediatric self‐report symptom measures: Congruence with the theory of unpleasant symptoms

“…One thing that was consistent among these findings and with the literature was that most self‐report measures have higher accuracy with older children (ages 7 years and older) (Collins et al., ; von Baeyer et al., ; Wong & Baker, ). Again, this higher accuracy may be a reflection of higher levels of cognitive development, which affect precision in measuring and interpreting the symptom experience (Simmons et al., ; Tonks et al., ; von Baeyer et al., ).…”

“…(Collins et al, 2002;von Baeyer et al, 2011;Wong & Baker, 1988). Again, this higher accuracy may be a reflection of higher levels of cognitive development, which affect precision in measuring and interpreting the symptom experience (Simmons et al, 2015;Tonks et al, 2014;von Baeyer et al, 2011).…”

Examining parent and child agreement in the diagnosis of adolescent depression

“…Of the questionnaire scales reviewed, Klein et al (2005) recommended the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ; Costello & Angold, 1988) claiming it has optimal power to discriminate between depressed and nondepressed young people and good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. A more recent review of depression measures in children and adolescents endorsed the use of the MFQ for treatment monitoring due to the psychometric properties, evidence base and ease of incorporating into clinical practice (Simmons, Wilkinson, & Dubicka, 2015), and existing UK guidelines for assessing and monitoring depression in young people also recommend use of the MFQ and K-SADS (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2019).…”

Cluster‐randomised controlled trial of an occupational therapy intervention for children aged 11–13 years, designed to increase participation to prevent symptoms of mental illness

“…The Child Depression Inventory 2nd edition: Self Report [Short form] (CDI2) assessed children's level of depression symptoms (Kovacs, ). The CDI2 has been shown to be comparable to the full‐version in discriminating between depressed and non‐depressed children with high sensitivity and good specificity (Allgaier et al., ) with sufficient sensitivity to measure changes over time and following an intervention (Simmons, Wilkinson, & Dubicka, ).…”