title: Screening for anxiety and depression in early adolescence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the level of diagnostic and discriminative accuracy of three dimensional rating scales for detecting anxiety and depressive disorders in a school-based survey of 9th grade youths.
  
  
  METHODS
  Classroom screening instruments, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) were administered to 632 youths from three sites in 1998. On the basis of rating scale results, samples of high-scoring and non-high-scoring youths were invited to participate in a diagnostic interview conducted within 2 months of the screening sessions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MASC scores were most strongly associated with individual anxiety disorders, particularly among females, whereas the CES-D composite score was associated with a diagnosis of major depression, after controlling for comorbid disorders. The RCMAS was least successful in discriminating anxiety and depression. When receiver operator characteristic curves were examined, diagnostic accuracy was moderate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ability of the MASC and CES-D to discriminate within and between categorically defined diagnostic groups has important implications for the accurate identification of youths in need of services.
authors.affiliation: Wesleyan University, Department of Psychology, Middletown, CT 06459, USA. ldierker@wesleyan.edu
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Dierker
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Albano
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Heimberg
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Merikangas
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lewinsohn
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Offord
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kupfer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012107:Research Design; D012574:Schools; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology