The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Adolescent Version (QIDS-A17): A Psychometric Evaluation

Charlotte L Haley,1 Betsy D Kennard,1,2 David W Morris,1 Ira H Bernstein,3 Thomas Carmody,4 Graham J Emslie,1,2 Taryn L Mayes,1 A John Rush5– 7 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; 2Children’s Health, Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA; 3Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA; 4Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; 5Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Sciences, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; 6Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Texas Tech University – Health Sciences Center, Permian Basin, TX, USA; 7Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USACorrespondence: Betsy D Kennard, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Child Psychiatry, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390-8589, USA, Tel +1 214.645.8680, Fax +1 214.648.3914, Email beth.kennard@utsouthwestern.eduObjective: The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric features of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Adolescent version (QIDS-A17) and the clinician-rated Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R).Methods: Altogether, 103 outpatients (8 to 17 years) completed the self-report QIDS-A17-SR. Clinician interviews of adolescents (QIDS-A17-C (Adolescent)) and of parents (QIDS-A17-C (Parent)) were combined to create the QIDS-A17-C(Composite) and the CDRS-R.Results: All QIDS-A17 measures and the CDRS-R evidenced high total score correlations and internal consistency. Factor analysis found all four measures to be unidimensional. Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis found results that complemented the reliability results found in CTT. All four also demonstrated discriminant diagnostic validity based on logistic regression and ANOVA analyses.Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the self-report and composite versions of the QIDS-A17 suggest acceptability as a measure of depression in adolescents either as a measure of depressive symptoms or severity of illness in adolescents. The self-report version may be a helpful tool in busy clinical practices.Keywords: pediatric depression, rating scale, psychometric properties, self-report measures