Reliability and Validity of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale with Young Adolescents

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Abstract

The current investigation examined the reliability and validity of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS; Reynolds, 1986a) in a sample of 89 young adolescents from an inner-city school. Participants were initially assessed in their classroom with the RADS, and then individually retested with the RADS and interviewed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Hamilton, 1967). The internal consistency reliability of the RADS was .91 on the initial assessment and .93 for the retest. The test-retest reliability of the RADS was .87. The correlation between the RADS and the Hamilton interview on the retesting was .76 (p < .001), suggesting a strong level of criterion-related validity. To examine the validity of the RADS in identifying youngsters who demonstrate clinical levels of depressive symptomatology, the clinical efficacy of the RADS cutoff score was examined using depression status as assessed by the Hamilton interview. A phi coefficient of .62 (p < .001) was found, with a sensitivity rate of 89% and specificity of 90%, with an overall correct classification of 90%. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the RADS provides a reliable and valid assessment of depressive symptomatology in young adolescents.

Section snippets

The reynolds adolescent depression scale (rads)

The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS; Reynolds 1986a, Reynolds 1987) was developed to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms in adolescents ages 12 through 18 years. The RADS consists of 30 items written to reflect symptoms delineated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association, 1980) for major depression and dysthymic disorder, as well as additional symptoms delineated by the Research Diagnostic

The current investigation

The current investigation was conducted to examine the reliability and validity of the RADS in the assessment of depressive symptomatology of young adolescents. Much of the existing validity and test-retest reliability studies with the RADS has been conducted with older adolescents in grades 9 through 12. Although the RADS has been used with youngsters in grades 6 through 8, there is limited data on criterion related validity and test-retest reliability with younger adolescents. The study

Participants

The participants were 89 young adolescents enrolled in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in a parochial school in an inner-city neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. There were 36 males and 53 females with a mean age of 12.53 years (SD = 0.92) and a range from 11 to 15 years, with 87% of the sample between 11 and 13 years of age. The sample consisted of the following ethnic composition: 71% African-American, 20% Hispanic-American, 1% Caucasian, and 8% other. By grade level, there were 30 6th graders, 32 7th

Descriptive Characteristics

The mean score on RADS for the sample on the initial assessment was 62.09 (SD = 15.03), which is similar in magnitude to the mean score reported by Reynolds (1987) for the RADS standardization sample (M = 60.18, SD = 14.29). The distribution of scores ranged from 33 to 100. The mean score on the RADS for the second assessment was 59.08 (SD = 15.20). This decrease is consistent with the general finding of a lower score on self-report depression measures at repeated testing (Reynolds, 1986b). A

Discussion

Depression is a significant mental health problem among adolescents, and is an important area of assessment for school psychologists Reynolds 1984, Reynolds 1985b, Reynolds 1990b. Depressive disorders, including both major depression and dysthymic disorder, can have significant deleterious effects on adolescents and their psychosocial adaptation and development. For many adolescents with depressive disorders, the disorder may last for many years and be a precursor to other psychopathology (

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by a faculty summer development grant from St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY, to the second author. The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Jennifer Grover as well as interviewers Carmela Gencorelli, Jeaninne DeVito, and Alan Becker for their time and efforts. We also wish to thank Sister Mary Jane, the principal, and the staff of St. John The Baptist School for their help and cooperation in assisting in the data collection.

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