title: The Depression-Arkansas scale: A validation study of a new brief depression scale in an HMO.
abstract: Recent trends in mental-health care have increased the need for practical depression instruments. The Depression-Arkansas (D-ARK), a brief, economical, multipurpose instrument, has been validated for assessing major depressive disorder (MDD) and depressive-symptom severity. Psychometric properties of the D-ARK were compared with standard depression scales (Beck Depression Inventory and Geriatric Depression Scale) among 294 adult and 193 senior primary-care patients, respectively, and 163 patients enrolled in cognitive-behavioral depression classes. The severity scale displayed adequate internal reliability (coefficient alpha =.81-.86), high correlation with the BDI-2 (r =.78-.83) and GDS (r =.75), and similar factor structure to the BDI-2. The D-ARK was calibrated against the BDI-2 and GDS, providing familiar severity category cutpoints with the new instrument. This study yields further data supporting the reliability, validity, and practical utility of the D-ARK.
authors.affiliation: Division of Research, Northern California Region, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, 94216-2304, USA. Larry.walter@kp.org
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Joel F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Meresman
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index