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The Depression—Arkansas scale: A validation study of a new brief depression scale in an HMO
Author(s) -
Walter Lawrence J.,
Meresman Joel F.,
Kramer Teresa L.,
Evans Richard B.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.10137
Subject(s) - psychology , depression (economics) , beck depression inventory , psychometrics , geriatric depression scale , scale (ratio) , clinical psychology , test validity , psychiatry , reliability (semiconductor) , validation test , major depressive disorder , depressive symptoms , mental health , cognition , anxiety , cartography , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , economics , macroeconomics , geography
Recent trends in mental‐health care have increased the need for practical depression instruments. The Depression—Arkansas (D‐ARK), a brief, economical, multipurpose instrument, has been validated for assessing major depressive disorder (MDD) and depressive‐symptom severity. Psychometric properties of the D‐ARK were compared with standard depression scales (Beck Depression Inventory and Geriatric Depression Scale) among 294 adult and 193 senior primary‐care patients, respectively, and 163 patients enrolled in cognitive–behavioral depression classes. The severity scale displayed adequate internal reliability (coefficient α = .81–.86), high correlation with the BDI‐2 ( r = .78–.83) and GDS ( r = .75), and similar factor structure to the BDI‐2. The D‐ARK was calibrated against the BDI‐2 and GDS, providing familiar severity category cutpoints with the new instrument. This study yields further data supporting the reliability, validity, and practical utility of the D‐ARK. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 465–481, 2003.