Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition: initial validation of the Korean version.
OBJECTIVE
This paper is a report of a study conducted to test the validity and reliability of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition in Korean culture.


BACKGROUND
Depression is a significant mental health problem in adolescents. The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition has been shown to be a useful tool to assess depression in adolescents, with extensive research on this measure having been conducted in western cultures. Measures developed in western cultures need to be tested and validated before being used in Asian cultures.


METHODS
The participants were a convenience sample of 440 Korean adolescents with a mean age of 13.78 years (sd = 0.95) from grades 7 to 9 in three public middle schools in South Korea. A cross-sectional design was used. Back-translation was used to create the Korean version, with additional testing for cultural meaning and comprehension. The data were collected at the end of 2004.


RESULTS
Internal consistency reliability for the Korean version of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition was 0.89, with subscale reliability ranging from 0.66 to 0.81. Evidence for criterion-related, convergent and discriminant validity for the Korean version of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition was found. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 4-factor structure of Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results support the validity and reliability for the Korean version of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale - Second Edition as a measure of depression and suggest that it can be used to screen students and to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive interventions in school settings.
Hyun
Myung-Sun
MS
Division of Nursing, College of Nursing, Ajou University, South Korea.
Nam
Kyoung-A
KA
Kang
Hee Sun
HS
Reynolds
William M
WM
D000293:Adolescent; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires