Psychometric Evaluation of the CDRS and MADRS in Assessing Depressive Symptoms in Children

• NCJ Number: 219984
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 46 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 1201-1212
• Author(s): Shailesh Jain M.D.; Thomas J. Carmody Ph.D.; Madhukar H. Trivedi M.D.; Carroll Hughes Ph.D.; Ira H. Bernstein Ph.D.; David W. Morris Ph.D.; Graham J. Emslie M.D.; John Rush M.D.
• Date Published: September 2007
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH-68851; MH-68852; T32-MH067543
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared the psychometric properties of the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R) and the Montgomery-Ashberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) in children (n=96) with major depressive disorder.

Abstract

Both the MADRS and the CDRS-R showed acceptable internal consistency. High Cronbach's alpha values for CDRS-R (.86) and MADRS (.82) indicate that both scales have individual response items that effectively measure depression severity. The slight disparity in reliability reflects the greater length of the CDRS-R. The findings suggest that the CDRS-R is to be preferred in assessing changes in depression symptoms in children; however, the MADRS is more easily administered in clinical settings, because it requires less time and no specialized training. The study enrolled 96 children, ages 8 to 11, who had been diagnosed with nonpsychotic major depressive disorder. Participants were part of a multisite, outpatient, randomized, placebo-controlled, 9-week trial of fluoxetine. The drug dosage was 10 mg/day for the first week and 20 mg/day thereafter. 6 tables, 1 figure, and 38 references