The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Adolescent Version (QIDS-A(17)): A Psychometric Evaluation

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric features of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Adolescent version (QIDS-A(17)) 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-A(17)-SR. Clinician interviews of adolescents (QIDS-A(17)-C (Adolescent)) and of parents (QIDS-A(17)-C (Parent)) were combined to create the QIDS-A(17)-C(Composite) and the CDRS-R. RESULTS: All QIDS-A(17) 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-A(17) 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.