Is the Beck Depression Inventory reliable over time? An evaluation of multiple test-retest reliability in a nonclinical college student sample

Smoking abstinence symptoms across 67 days compared with randomized controls-Moderation by nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, and negative-affect traits

Accurate knowledge of negative affect (NA)-related smoking abstinence symptoms (SAS) severity and duration and their moderation by pharmacotherapy and NA-related personality traits is critical for efficacious treatments given that elevated state and trait NA are predictors of relapse. However, SAS severity, duration, and moderation are not well characterized. To date, the longest randomized controlled trial (RCT) of NA-related SAS using randomized delayed-quit smoking controls only examined symptoms across 45 days, despite clinical evidence that SAS may last longer. The present RCT assessed SAS across 67 days in dependent smokers (N = 95) who were randomized either to quit or to delay quitting for the course of the trial. The quit group was further randomized to receive either nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion (BUP), or placebo. Abstinence-related increases in anger-irritability, depressive, anxiety, and general NA symptoms did not resolve relative to the delayed quit group (DQG) levels across the 67 days in any of the 3 quit groups, though craving fell to below DQG and prequit levels. While NRT attenuated Day 3 SAS relative to BUP and placebo, BUP and NRT generally did not reduce SAS. High scores on trait measures of NA/neuroticism predicted greater increases in and duration of NA-related SAS, potentially indicating that smoking abstinence unmasks affective symptoms. Positive affect was not impacted by abstinence or treatment. The results support the views that (a) prequit baseline values are not a valid index of NA SAS recovery, and (b) on average, NA-related SAS take longer than 67 days to resolve. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychometric Properties of the Expanded Version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in a Turkish Population

The study examined psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II) in a Turkish sample. The sample consisted of nonclinical ( N = 931) and clinical ( N = 208) individuals. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that Turkish IDAS-II was similar to the original IDAS-II and supported the construct validity of the test. The Turkish IDAS-II showed good internal consistency, significant acceptable retest correlations, and was sensitive to changes over time. The Turkish IDAS-II also showed good convergent and discriminant validity in relation to the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, the Panic Agoraphobia Scale, and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version. Discriminant analyses revealed that the subscales of the Turkish IDAS-II significantly differentiated healthy controls from outpatients. The Turkish IDAS-II is a reliable and valid measure for assessing symptoms of depression and anxiety in Turkish-speaking participants.

Sensitivity to criticism differentially mediates the relationship between interpersonal problems and state and trait depression

Both state- and trait-like manifestations of depression have been associated with poor interpersonal functioning. One mechanism by which this could occur is through individuals' sensitivity to criticism. In the present study, 414 undergraduates were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck et al. 1996) and Depressive Personality Disorder Inventory (Huprich et al. 1996) as representative measures of state and trait depression respectively. They also were assessed with self-report measures of sensitivity to criticism and interpersonal problems. Sensitivity to criticism significantly mediated the relationship between state and trait depression within five dimensions of interpersonal problems. However, sensitivity to criticism was more strongly related to the trait depression-interpersonal problems relationship than the state depression-interpersonal problems relationship, when controlling for state depression and trait depression respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A psychometric evaluation of the panic disorder severity scale for children and adolescents

The Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS; Shear et al., 1997) is a well-validated measure that assesses symptoms of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PDA) in adults. The Panic Disorder Severity Scale for Children (PDSS-C) is an adaptation of the PDSS for youth ages 11-17. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of the PDSS-C. Participants included 60 adolescents from a randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of an intensive cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for adolescent PDA. Convergent and discriminant validity of PDSS-C scores were evaluated via observed associations between the PDSS-C and the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI; Silverman, Fleisig, Rabian, & Peterson, 1991), Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC; March, Parker, Sullivan, Stallings, & Conners, 1997), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 2003). Baseline and posttreatment data afforded the opportunity to evaluate the measure's sensitivity to treatment-related change. PDSS-C scores demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = .82) and adequate 1-day test-retest reliability (r = .79). Convergent and discriminant validity of the PDSS-C scores were supported through significant associations with the CASI and the MASC, and nonsignificant associations with the CDI, respectively. Linear regression analysis demonstrated sensitivity to treatment-related changes-that is, greater PDSS-C change scores were significantly associated with assignment to CBT vs. waitlist condition. Clinical utility was further established through significant associations between PDSS-C change scores and MASC and CASI change scores, and through nonsignificant associations with CDI change scores. Results support the use of PDSS-C scores as reliable, valid, and clinically useful for the assessment of youth panic disorder in research and clinical settings.

An introduction to Rasch analysis for Psychiatric practice and research

This article aims to present the main characteristics of Rasch analysis in the context of patient reported outcomes in Psychiatry. We present an overview of the main features of the Rasch analysis, using as an example the latent variable of depressive symptoms, with illustrations using the Beck Depression Inventory. We will show that with fitting data to the Rasch model, we can confirm the structural validity of the scale, including key attributes such as invariance, local dependency and unidimensionality. We also illustrate how the approach can inform on the meaning of the numbers attributed to scales, the amount of the latent traits that such numbers represent, and the consequent adequacy of statistical operations used to analyse them. We would argue that fitting data to the Rasch model has become the measurement standard for patient reported outcomes in general and, as a consequence will facilitate a quality improvement of outcome instruments in psychiatry. Recent advances in measurement technologies built upon the calibration of items derived from Rasch analysis in the form of computerized adaptive tests (CAT) open up further opportunities for reducing the burden of testing, and/or expanding the range of information that can be collected during a single session.

Design and methods for a pilot randomized clinical trial involving exercise and behavioral activation to treat comorbid type 2 diabetes and major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND: The comorbidity of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and depression is associated with poor glycemic control. Exercise has been shown to improve mood and glycemic control, but individuals with comorbid T2DM and depression are disproportionately sedentary compared to the general population and report more difficulty with exercise. Behavioral activation, an evidence-based depression psychotherapy, was designed to help people with depression make gradual behavior changes, and may be helpful to build exercise adherence in sedentary populations. This pilot randomized clinical trial will test the feasibility of a group exercise program enhanced with behavioral activation strategies among women with comorbid T2DM and depression. METHODS/DESIGN: Sedentary women with inadequately controlled T2DM and depression (N=60) will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: exercise or usual care. Participants randomized to the exercise condition will attend 38 behavioral activation-enhanced group exercise classes over 24 weeks in addition to usual care. Participants randomized to the usual care condition will receive depression treatment referrals and print information on diabetes management via diet and physical activity. Assessments will occur at baseline and 3-, 6-, and 9-months following randomization. The goals of this pilot study are to demonstrate feasibility and intervention acceptability, estimate the resources and costs required to deliver the intervention and to estimate the standard deviation of continuous outcomes (e.g., depressive symptoms and glycosylated hemoglobin) in preparation for a fully-powered randomized clinical trial. DISCUSSION: A novel intervention that combines exercise and behavioral activation strategies could potentially improve glycemic control and mood in women with comorbid type 2 diabetes and depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01024790.

Comparison of depressive indices: reliability, validity, relationship to anxiety and personality and the role of age and life events

INTRODUCTION

Although a great number of depressive scales were developed during the last decades, there are only a few studies that compare them in terms of reliability and validity. The current study aimed to compare the properties of some of the most popular of these scales.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study sample included 40 depressed patients 29.65+/-9.38 years old, and 120 normal comparison subjects 27.23+/-10.62 years old. The clinical diagnosis was reached by consensus of two examiners with the use of the SCAN v.2.0. The scales compared were the CES-D, ZDRS, BDI-I, and the KSQ. The STAI, the Life Change Scale (Holms and Rahe), and the EPQ were also administered. The analysis included the comparison of psychometric properties and the use of Pearson correlation coefficient and factor analysis.

RESULTS

The results suggested that no scale was clearly superior to the others. All scales correlated to anxiety measurements, sociodemographic variables, personality dimensions and non-specific indices. The results reported here include an appendix with algorithms that help transforming one scale score into other scales scores. These algorithms can be useful for comparison purposes in meta-analytic studies.

DISCUSSION

The comparison of several depressive scales provided no impressive results on the superiority or inferiority of a specific scale in comparison to the others.

Stress model for research into preterm delivery among black women

The disparity between black and white infant mortality rates increased over the last decade, despite overall improvement in infant survival. Because most black infant deaths are related to preterm delivery, the discovery of the cause of premature birth in general and excess premature birth for black infants in particular is of paramount importance for reproductive health research. Substantial theoretic support exists for maternal stress as a risk factor for preterm birth. Traumatic events early in life may sensitize the adult to contemporary stresses and increase her vulnerability to stress-induced neuroendocrine or infection/inflammatory pathways to early parturition. In addition, an individual may prematurely age as a result of cumulative stress or a major traumatic event. This "stress age," which is synonymous with the concept of weathering and similar to the concept of allostatic load, may affect parturition through chronic conditions (such as hypertension) and in poorly understood pathophysiologic mechanisms that are related to increased chronologic age. One potential measure of stress age is maternal serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. Maternal stress is a potential explanatory factor for excess preterm delivery among black women because of their exposure to racism-associated stress. However, few studies have addressed this question, and results are mixed. Future etiologic research must take into account the complexities of the measurement of stress age and past and current exposures to stress, which includes internalized racism and interpersonal racism.

The Greek translation of the symptoms rating scale for depression and anxiety: preliminary results of the validation study

BACKGROUND

The aim of the current study was to assess the reliability, validity and the psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the Symptoms Rating Scale For Depression and Anxiety. The scale consists of 42 items and permits the calculation of the scores of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-21, the BDI 13, the Melancholia Subscale, the Asthenia Subscale, the Anxiety Subscale and the Mania Subscale

METHODS

29 depressed patients 30.48 +/- 9.83 years old, and 120 normal controls 27.45 +/- 10.85 years old entered the study. In 20 of them (8 patients and 12 controls) the instrument was re-applied 1-2 days later. Translation and Back Translation was made. Clinical Diagnosis was reached by consensus of two examiners with the use of the SCAN v.2.0 and the IPDE. CES-D and ZDRS were used for cross-validation purposes. The Statistical Analysis included ANOVA, the Spearman Correlation Coefficient, Principal Components Analysis and the calculation of Cronbach's alpha.

RESULTS

The optimal cut-off points were: BDI-21: 14/15, BDI-13: 7/8, Melancholia: 8/9, Asthenia: 9/10, Anxiety: 10/11. Chronbach's alpha ranged between 0.86 and 0.92 for individual scales. Only the Mania subscale had very low alpha (0.12). The test-retest reliability was excellent for all scales with Spearman's Rho between 0.79 and 0.91.

CONCLUSIONS

The Greek translation of the SRSDA and the scales that consist it are both reliable and valid and are suitable for clinical and research use with satisfactory properties. Their properties are close to those reported in the international literature. However one should always have in mind the limitations inherent in the use of self-report scales.

The impact of late-afternoon stimulant dosing for children with ADHD on parent and parent-child domains

Examined the impact of late-afternoon stimulant dosing on parent and parent-child domains. Twenty-one children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled medication assessment comparing varying doses of methylphenidate (MPH) and Adderall in the context of an intensive treatment program. Children received varying doses of stimulant medication, including active medication or placebo at 3:30 p.m. daily. Parent ratings of their mood, pleasantness of parent-child interactions, and perceived parenting effectiveness and successfulness were obtained each evening. Effective medication doses had a beneficial impact on parent-child domains (e.g., parent-child interactions) but did not significantly affect non-child-related parent variables (e.g., negative affect [NA]). Findings suggested that doses with beneficial effects lasting into the evening improved parent reports of the pleasantness of parent-child interactions but were insufficient to produce positive changes in parent functioning.

Double-blind antiglucocorticoid treatment in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Antiglucocorticoids, such as ketoconazole, have been investigated as antidepressant agents in major depression and other conditions. Despite evidence that a significant number of patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are both hypercortisolemic and depressed, the antidepressant effects of antiglucocorticoids have never been assessed in these populations.

METHODS

Fifteen symptomatic patients with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who were at least partially treatment-resistant, were treated with ketoconazole, up to 800 mg/day, (n = 8) or placebo (n = 7) for four weeks in a double-blind manner. The study medication was added to a pre-stabilized antipsychotic and/or antidepressant medication regimen.

RESULTS

Ketoconazole treatment, compared to placebo, was associated with significant improvements in observer-rated depression, but not in subjectively rated depression, positive or negative psychotic symptom ratings, or cognitive performance scores.

CONCLUSIONS

These pilot data partially support the hypothesis that antiglucocorticoids reduce depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, although objective and subjective ratings may not be similarly affected during a four-week course of treatment. Further studies with larger sample sizes, more extensive endocrine assessments and longer duration of drug administration seem warranted.