Publication Date

2004

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Dr. Elizabeth L. Jones (Director), Dr. Carl L. Myers, Dr. Reagan D. Brown

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Specialist in Education

Abstract

It is critical for the depressive symptoms of adolescents to be recognized, evaluated, and treated. Depression can increase the risk for illness and interpersonal difficulties in the future and affect almost every aspect of an individual’s life. Self-report measures are often utilized to assess depression, and when these measures are able to effectively detect depression, diagnosis and treatment are expedited. In order to validate the usefulness and psychometric properties of a new self-report measure, existing measures are often used as one criterion by which to judge them. The present study explored concurrent and discriminant validity of a new self-report depression measure, the Clinical Assessment of Depression (CAD; Bracken & Howell, 2004), with an established self-report measure, the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS; Reynolds, 1987). The population for this investigation consisted of 122 adolescents (ages 13 to 18), a group of 99 non-referred and a group of 23 individuals with a primary diagnosis of unipolar depression. Strong, significant correlations ranging from .70 to .97 were found between the CAD and the RADS. This study also found that the CAD is a sound instrument that can be used to discriminate between clinical and non-referred adolescent populations. The CAD appears to have acceptable validity that supports its use with adolescent populations.

Disciplines

Child Psychology | Clinical Psychology | Psychology

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