Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of illness Attitudes Scale / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To test the psychometric characteristics of the Chinese Version of the Illness Attitudes Scale(IAS-CV).Methods:Totally 297 patients (with somatoform disorders,major depressive disorder,generalized anxiety disorder,panic disorder,and obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosed with ICD-10) and 212 normal people were assessed with IAS-CV,Beck Depression Inventory-Ⅱ and Beck Anxiety Inventory.Results:The confirmation factor analysis result of the nine-factor model of IAS-CV was x2/df=1.99,GFI =0.86,RMSEA =0.06.The total score of IAS-CV was correlated with BAI scores (r =0.45,P ＜0.01) and BDI-Ⅱ scores(r =0.42,P ＜0.01).Patients with somatoform disorders (62 ± 17) had higher scores than patients with other disorder,such as depression (43 ± 16),anxiety (46 ± 21),obsessive compulsive disorder (46 ± 15),and normal controls (35 ± 13).The Cronbach's α coefficients were 0.91 for IAS-CV and 0.62-0.91 for each subscale.The test-retest coefficients were 0.95 for the total scale and 0.67-0.93 for each subscale (P ＜ 0.01).Split-half coefficient was 0.94.The cut-off score of IAS-CV for screening somatoform disorders was 44.Conclusion:It suggests that the Chinese Version of the Illness Attitudes Scale(IAS-CV) has good psychometric features and could be used in clinical practice and research in China.

Measurement-based Treatment of Residual Symptoms Using Clinically Useful Depression Outcome Scale: Korean Validation Study

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at evaluating the diagnostic validity of the Korean version of the Clinically Useful Depression Outcome Scale (CUDOS) with varying follow-up in a typical clinical setting in multiple centers. METHODS: In total, 891 psychiatric outpatients were enrolled at the time of their intake appointment. Current diagnostic characteristics were examined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (41% major depressive disorder). The CUDOS was measured and compared with three clinician rating scales and four self-report scales. RESULTS: The CUDOS showed excellent results for internal consistency (Cronbach's α, 0.91), test-retest reliability (patients at intake, r=0.81; depressed patients in ongoing treatment, r=0.89), and convergent and discriminant validity (measures of depression, r=0.80; measures of anxiety and somatization, r=0.42). The CUDOS had a high ability to discriminate between different levels of depression severity based on the rating of Clinical Global Impression for depression severity and the diagnostic classification of major depression, minor depression, and non-depression. The ability of the CUDOS to identify patients with major depression was high (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve=0.867). A score of 20 as the optimal cutoff point was suggested when screening for major depression using the CUDOS (sensitivity=89.9%, specificity=69.5%). The CUDOS was sensitive to change after antidepressant treatment: patients with greater improvement showed a greater decrease in CUDOS scores (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this multi-site outpatient study found that the Korean version of the CUDOS is a very useful measurement for research and for clinical practice.

Do Somatic Symptoms Predict the Severity of Depression? A Validation Study of the Korean Version of the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale

This study aimed at exploring the psychometric characteristics of the Korean Version of the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS) in a clinical sample, and investigating the impact of somatic symptoms on the severity of depression. Participants were 203 consecutive outpatients with current major depressive disorders (MDD) or lifetime diagnosis of MDD. The DSSS was compared with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the 17-items Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD). The DSSS showed a two-factor structure that accounted for 56.8% of the variance, as well as excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.95), concurrent validity (r = 0.44–0.82), and temporal stability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.79). The DSSS had a high ability to identify patients in non-remission (area under receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve = 0.887). Maximal discrimination between remission and non-full remission was obtained at a cut-off score of 22 (sensitivity = 82.1%, specificity = 81.4%). The number of somatic symptoms (the range of somatic symptoms) and the scores on the somatic subscale (SS, the severity of somatic symptoms) in non-remission patients were greater than those in remission patients. The number of somatic symptoms (slope = 0.148) and the SS score (slope = 0.472) were confirmed as excellent predictors of the depression severity as indicated by the MADRS scores. The findings indicate that the DSSS is a useful tool for simultaneously, rapidly, and accurately measuring depression and somatic symptoms in clinical practice settings and in consultation fields.

Cut-Off Scores of the Children's Depression Inventory for Screening and Rating Severity in Korean Adolescents

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to establish an optimal cut-off score of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) for detecting depression and rating severity in Korean adolescents. METHODS: A total of 468 students aged 12-16 years from 8 middle schools in Busan, Korea participated in this study. The Korean version of the CDI and Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Present and Lifetime Version were used to evaluate depressive symptoms. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analyses were conducted to evaluate case-finding performance and set the cut-off scores. RESULTS: ROC analyses demonstrated that the overall discrimination power of the CDI is good enough to evaluate adolescent depression. The CDI sum score of 20 was identified as the optimal screening cut-off score, where sensitivity was 0.83 and specificity was 0.89. This cut-off score could apply regardless of subjects' gender. The cut-off scores were examined in order of the depression severity: 15 for mild, 20 for moderate, and 25 for severe depression with high sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: The CDI cut-off scores of our study can be recommended for screening depressed youth and rating the severity of depressive symptoms. The high negative predictive value suggested that the cut-off score of 20 would result in a small number of missed cases. Further studies are needed to ascertain these CDI cut-off scores for different age groups.

Determining The Cut-Off Score For A Malay Language Version Of The Centre For Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD)

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the optimal cut-off score for the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CESD) according to Malaysian adolescent norms. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Nine hundred and thirty-one adolescents aged 13 to 17 years-old completed the CESD and Hopkins Symptom Checklist-depression scale (HSCL-depression). Results: Results from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, kappa coefficients and odds ratio analysis showed that CESD cut-off score of 27 was suitable to be used according to Malaysian norms, demonstrating a specificity of 93%. Conclusion: The findings suggest a cut-off score 27 should be used for screening of depression for Malaysian adolescents using the CESD.

Cut-off Score on MMSE-K for Screening of Dementia in Community Dwelling Old People

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to estimate the optimal cut-off score on Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) for screening of dementia in community dwelling old people, and to investigate possible changes of the cut-off score according to age, gender, educational level, living area, and depression of the old people. METHODS: For the old people aged 65 or over dwelling in two areas of Kwangju, cognitive function (MMSE-K) and demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational level, living area) were investigated. For those scoring 24 or less on MMSE-K of them, clinical diagnosis of dementia (DSM-IV) and depression (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) were assessed. The optimal cut-off score on MMSE-K with a sensitivity and a specificity was examined by using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis served by diagnosis of dementia as a gold standard. Associations of the cut-off score on MMSE-K with demographic characteristics and depression were estimated by odds ratios. For those factors showing significant association with cut-off score on MMSE-K regardless of the diagnosis of dementia, the optimal cut-off scores on MMSE-K were measured again at each level. RESULTS: In the old people scoring 24 or less on MMSE-K (n=341), the optimal cut-off score on MMSE-K served by diagnosis of dementia was 21/22 with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 64%. Only the age among the investigated characteristics was significantly associated with the cut-off score on MMSE-K, and the optimal cut-off score in those aged 75 or over was revealed to be 20/21. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the cut-off score on MMSE-K for screening of dementia investigated in this study could be used by community health care staff as a guideline for assessing old people with questionable cognitive dysfunction or for considering to consult them to an expert.

Validation of Geriatric Depression Scale, Korean Version(GDS) in the Assessment of DSM-III-R Major Depression / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The authors attempted to evaluate the diagnostic validity of the Korean version, Geri-atric Depression Scale(GDS) for screening geriatric DSM-III-R major depression among clinical pop-ulations. METHODS: Through of preliminary trials 3 times, the authors translated GDS including Short form Geriatric Depression Scale(SGDS) into Korean. GDS, SGDS, HRS-D, CES-D was adminis-tered to 88 elderly psychiatric patients(35 major depressives, 51 were non-major depression) and also Diagnostic Interview Schedule(DIS-III-R) was administered independently to diagnoses DSM-III-R major depression. Reliability and validity test 5, optimal cut-off point estimation, and ROC curve analysis were done to investigate the diagnostic validity of GDS and SGDS. RESULTS: Internal consistency-reliability and concurrent validity of GDS, SGDS associated with other depression scales(HRS-D, CES-D) were excellent. Content validity and discriminant validity which differentiate DSM-III-R major depression from non-major depression was also good. The authors suggest the score '17' as the optimal cut-off point of GDS for screening DSM-III-R major depression among clinical populations and the score '8' as optimal cut-off score of SGDS. ROC curve analysis revealed wide AUC of both GDS and SGDS, which indicates its high diagnostic validity in assessing DSM-III-R major depression. The GDS and SGDS were found to be highly correlated(r=0.9594) and any difference of AUC between both scales in ROC curve analysis were not found. This finding suggests that SGDS can be an adequate substitute for GDS. CONCLUSION: The GDS and SGDS are valid and reliable case finding tools for screening DSM-III-R major depression among clinical populations in Korea but relatively high cut-off point demands the further evaluation in the viewpoint of culturally determined style of response for the depression questionnaire in Korea.