Self- and clinician-rated Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale: evaluation in clinical practice.
BACKGROUND
Time- and cost-effective self-rating scales of depressive symptoms are particularly valuable for frequent use in large-scale effectiveness trials. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the French version of the self-rated Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) and determine whether it might complement the MADRS in monitoring depression severity and change over time in routine clinical practice.


METHODS
Sixty-three adult outpatients with a current depressive episode completed the MADRS-S and were interviewed with the MADRS on two occasions, within a 1-month interval.


RESULTS
All patients readily accepted the MADRS-S. It showed good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.85 at Time 1; 0.94 at Time 2). Its factor structure revealed that a single component explained a large proportion of variability (47.0% at Time 1; 68.8% at Time 2). Concurrent validity of the self- and clinician-rated versions was good (Pearson's correlation coefficients for total scores 0.81 at Time 1; 0.91 at Time 2). The MADRS-S was sensitive to change over the 4-week observation period (correlation of 0.71 between change scores on self- and clinician-rated instruments).


CONCLUSIONS
Generalizability is restricted to outpatients with moderate to severe depression, and the MADRS-S ability to measure treatment effects needs to be examined.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study indicates that the MADRS-S displays favourable psychometric properties and suggests that it might be a valid complement to the MADRS, both in research settings and clinical practice.
Bondolfi
G
G
Geneva University Hospitals, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Adult Psychiatry, Geneva, Switzerland. guido.bondolfi@hcuge.ch
Jermann
F
F
Rouget
B Weber
BW
Gex-Fabry
M
M
McQuillan
A
A
Dupont-Willemin
A
A
Aubry
J-M
JM
Nguyen
C
C
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013557:Switzerland