Validity and Reliability of the Korean Version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(K-HDRS) / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The reliability and validity of the Korean version of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (K-HDRS) were examined in Korean patients depressive symptoms. METHODS: 33 inpatients and 70 outpatients diagnosed as major depressive disorder or depressive episode of bipolar I disorder according to the DSM-IV criteria were assessed with K-HDRS, Clinical Global Impression score(CGI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Montgomery-Aberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). RESULTS: Internal consistency (Cronhach's alpha coefficeint=0.76) and interrater reliability (r=0.94, p<0.001) were statistically significant. Principal axis factoring analysis revealed 4 factors that accounted for 50.4% of the total variance. The correlations of K-HDRS with CGI, BDI and MADRS were 0.84, 0.54, 0.58 respectively. CONCLUSION: These results showed that the K-HDRS could be a reliable and valid tool for the assessment of depressive Korean patients. The K-HDRS will be a useful tool for assessing depressive symptoms in Korea.

A Validation Study of the Korean -Version of the Montgomery- Asberg Depression Rating Scale / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) has been reported as a valid tool for the assessment of depression because it is based on the core symptoms of depression. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability, validity and psychometric properties of the Korean version of the MADRS (K-MADRS). METHODS: One hundred seven patients, including in-patients and out-patients, diagnosed as major depressive disorder according to the DSM-IV criteria were enrolled in this study. They were assessed with K-MADRS, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) to examine cross-validation. Statistical analysis was done using calculation of Cronbach's alpha, Spearman Correlation Coefficient and Principal Components Analysis. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of K-MADRS was 0.79. And the correlations of each item with total score were statistically significant (r=0.47-0.75, p<0.001). The inter-rater reliabilities of total score (r=0.89, p<0.001) and individual score (r=0.74-0.95, p=0.001) were high. The factor analysis revealed two factors. However, the first one accounted for 39% of variance, while the second one only for 11.1%. The total score of K-MADRS showed a significant correlation with those of HDRS, BDI and CGI (r=0.82, 0.47, 0.74, respectively, p=0.001). CONCLUSION: The K-MADRS showed good reliability and validity for the assessment of severity of depressive symptoms. And it demonstrated similar psychometric properties to previous studies. The K-MADRS is an useful instrument for assessing depressive symptoms in Korea.

A Validation Study of the Korean-Version of the Young Mania Rating Scale / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The reliability and validity of the Korean version of Young Mania Rating Scale (K-YMRS) were examined in the Korean patients with major psychosis. METHODS: One hundred and twenty inpatients diagnosed as major psychosis by DSM-IV criteria were assessed with both K-YMRS and expanded Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS-E) during the first 3 days in hospital and after 4-week treatment. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of K-YMRS was 0.73. The inter-rater reliabilities of total score (r=0.93, p=0.000) and individual item scores were high (r=0.65-0.96, p=0.000). The correlations of each items of K-YMRS with total score were statistically significant (r=0.35-0.78, p=0.000) except for the "insight" item. The principal component analysis for K-YMRS produced three factors;a) mood and vegetative symptoms, b) behavioral symptoms, and c) thought content and insight. The total scores of K-YMRS showed a significant correlation with the manic-excitement factor scores of BPRS-E at baseline and after 4-week treatment (r=0.82, r=0.72, respectively, p=0.000). The discriminant function analysis showed that manic (n=43) and non-manic patients (n=73) were discriminated 73.7% correctly by K-YMRS total score (p=0.01). The change of the total score of K-YMRS after 4-week treatment in manic patients was significantly greater than that in non-manic patients (p=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: K-YMRS was demonstrated to have good reliability and validity for measuring the severity of manic symptoms. It is expected that K-YMRS will be a useful tool for assessing mania symptoms in Korea.

A Validation Study of Korean-version of Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale (LUNSERS): Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale (LUNSERS) / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to develop the Korean version of Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side Effect Rating Scale(LUNSERS) for measuring neuroleptic side effects by self-rating method and to examine the reliability and validity in the schizophrenic patients medicated by neuroleptics and normal controls. METHODS: We made 51-item, 4-point scale of Korean version LUNSERS through translation, reverse translation and supervision by specialists. Sixty two schizophrenics diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria and medicated with neuroleptics completed LUNSERS twice with one week interval. Second LUNSERS and UKU side effect rating scale (UKU) by psychiatrist were administered to the schizophrenics at the same time. Normal controls also completed LUNSERS. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability (r=0.86, p<0.01) of LUNSERS and the concurrent validity (r=0.81, p<0.001) against UKU were good. But the neuroleptic doses and total scores of side effect items didn't show significant correlation. By the ROC curve analysis, the total scores of side effect items differentiated the medicated patients from non-medicated controls but not for the red herring items. CONCLUSION: Korean-version of LUNSERS has good reliability and validity. And it was also proved to be an useful assessment tool for measuring the extent of neuroleptic side effects systematically instead of UKU in clinical trials.

Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: We tested the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the PANSS (PANSS-KV). METHODS: The PANSS ratings were obtained from 101 subjects with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder. To study the concurrent validity, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) were also administrated in 38 patients. Using these data, inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, criterion validity and concurrent validity were evaluated. Factor structure was analyzed by the principal axis factoring. RESULTS: The inter-rater reliability of the Korean version of the PANSS was satisfactory in positive (r=0.92) and negative syndrome subscales(r=0.86), but somewhat low in general psychopathology subscale (r=0.78). The test-retest correlations for the 3 PANSS subscales ranged between 0.89 and 0.95, so it showed excellent test-retest reliability. The Cronbach's alpha for the positive, negative and general psychopathology subscales were 0.73, 0.84 and 0.74, respectively and thus the 3 subscales of the PANSS had good internal consistencies. All separate items revealed significant corrected item-total correlations in the positive and negative syndrome subscales, but some items of the general psychopathology subscale showed no or low corrected item-total correlations. The positive and negative syndrome subscales held a high concurrent validity in relation to the SAPS and the SANS. It was confirmed that positive and negative syndromes were independent constructs. The factor analysis by the principal axis factoring produced 5 components: cognitive, excitement, depression, positive and negative. CONCLUSION: These findings prove that the reliability and validity of the PANSS-KV are comparable to those of the original PANSS. So, the PANSS-KV can be widely and extensively used in researches for schizophrenia.