Standardization of depression measurement: a common metric was developed for 11 self-report depression measures
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Standardization of depression measurement : a common metric was developed for 11 self-report depression measures. / Wahl, Inka; Löwe, Bernd; Bjørner, Jakob; Fischer, Felix; Langs, Gernot; Voderholzer, Ulrich; Aita, Stephen A; Bergemann, Niels; Brähler, Elmar; Rose, Matthias.
In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Vol. 67, No. 1, 01.2014, p. 73-86.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Standardization of depression measurement
T2 - a common metric was developed for 11 self-report depression measures
AU - Wahl, Inka
AU - Löwe, Bernd
AU - Bjørner, Jakob
AU - Fischer, Felix
AU - Langs, Gernot
AU - Voderholzer, Ulrich
AU - Aita, Stephen A
AU - Bergemann, Niels
AU - Brähler, Elmar
AU - Rose, Matthias
N1 - Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: To provide a standardized metric for the assessment of depression severity to enable comparability among results of established depression measures.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A common metric for 11 depression questionnaires was developed applying item response theory (IRT) methods. Data of 33,844 adults were used for secondary analysis including routine assessments of 23,817 in- and outpatients with mental and/or medical conditions (46% with depressive disorders) and a general population sample of 10,027 randomly selected participants from three representative German household surveys.RESULTS: A standardized metric for depression severity was defined by 143 items, and scores were normed to a general population mean of 50 (standard deviation = 10) for easy interpretability. It covers the entire range of depression severity assessed by established instruments. The metric allows comparisons among included measures. Large differences were found in their measurement precision and range, providing a rationale for instrument selection. Published scale-specific threshold scores of depression severity showed remarkable consistencies across different questionnaires.CONCLUSION: An IRT-based instrument-independent metric for depression severity enables direct comparisons among established measures. The "common ruler" simplifies the interpretation of depression assessment by identifying key thresholds for clinical and epidemiologic decision making and facilitates integrative psychometric research across studies, including meta-analysis.
AB - OBJECTIVES: To provide a standardized metric for the assessment of depression severity to enable comparability among results of established depression measures.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A common metric for 11 depression questionnaires was developed applying item response theory (IRT) methods. Data of 33,844 adults were used for secondary analysis including routine assessments of 23,817 in- and outpatients with mental and/or medical conditions (46% with depressive disorders) and a general population sample of 10,027 randomly selected participants from three representative German household surveys.RESULTS: A standardized metric for depression severity was defined by 143 items, and scores were normed to a general population mean of 50 (standard deviation = 10) for easy interpretability. It covers the entire range of depression severity assessed by established instruments. The metric allows comparisons among included measures. Large differences were found in their measurement precision and range, providing a rationale for instrument selection. Published scale-specific threshold scores of depression severity showed remarkable consistencies across different questionnaires.CONCLUSION: An IRT-based instrument-independent metric for depression severity enables direct comparisons among established measures. The "common ruler" simplifies the interpretation of depression assessment by identifying key thresholds for clinical and epidemiologic decision making and facilitates integrative psychometric research across studies, including meta-analysis.
KW - Adult
KW - Depression
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
KW - Psychometrics
KW - Questionnaires
KW - Reproducibility of Results
KW - Severity of Illness Index
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.04.019
DO - 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.04.019
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 24262771
VL - 67
SP - 73
EP - 86
JO - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
JF - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
SN - 0895-4356
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 136794551