ABSTRACT
Objective:To assess the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the eleven-item Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS-11)in Chinese adolescents,calculate its optimal cut-off value and the sensi-tivity and specificity,and explore the possibility of providing a useful tool to assess the severity of adolescent de-pressive symptoms.Methods:Totally 3180 students aged 11 -17 years were selected from schools in 6 provinces and Shanghai.All of them were asked to complete the KADS-11 and Children Depression Inventory (CDI). Students whose CDI scores were above 19 (including 19)were diagnosed with the DSM-IV criteria of depressive disorder,73 students from Shanghai sample were assessed with KADS-11 and CDI to analyze the test-retest reliabil-ity 1 month later.Results:Exploratory factor analysis showed that KADS-11 had 2 factors,and confirmatory factor analysis tested proved the 2-factor model fit better than the one-factor model.The KADS-11 total scores were posi-tively correlated with CDI total scores (r =0.74,P <0.01 ),and the KADS-11 scores were higher in depressive group than those in non-depressive group.The mean area under the curve (AUC)of KADS-11was 0.94,the mean area under the curve of each item ranged from 0.7 to 0.9.The optimal cut-off point of KADS-11 was total score≥9,sensitivity and specificity were 89% and 90% respectively.The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the KADS-11 was 0.84,the spilt-half reliability coefficient was 0.71 (P <0.01),and the test-retest coefficient was 0.77 (P <0.01).Conclusion:The KADS-11 is appropriate for Chinese adolescents because of its good validity,reliability and diagnosis accuracy,it could be used to assess depressive symptoms for adolescents.