 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Martha Shumway, PhD, Tetine Sentell, MA, George J. Unick, MSW, and Wynne Bamberg. Psychiatry Department, University of California, San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave, Rm 7M-W21, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415-206-5577, shumway@itsa.ucsf.edu
Cognitive complexity of standardized questions reduces measurement accuracy in opinion surveys and may have similar effects in self-administered depression measures. This study compared the cognitive complexity of 15 self-administered depression measures. Four aspects of cognitive complexity (total number, length, readability and linguistic problems) were assessed for all instructions, questions and responses in 15 self-administered depression measures: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI I, II, PC), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), Harvard Department of Psychiatry/National Depression Screening Day Scale (HANDS), Hamilton Depression Inventory (HDI, Full and Short Versions), Revised Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (RHRSD), Inventory to Diagnose Depression (IDD), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9), Personal Inventory for Depression and SAD (PIDS), Profile of Mood States (POMS), Two Question Screening Survey (TQSS), and the Zung Self-Rated Depression Scale. Measures were ranked on each aspect of complexity and the ranks averaged to reflect overall cognitive complexity. Measures varied considerably. The most cognitively complex measures, likely to be the most difficult to understand, were the IDD and the HDI (Full and Short Versions), followed by all three versions of the BDI. The least complex measures, likely to be easiest to understand, were the HANDS, the Zung, and the RHRSD. Importantly, this multidimensional measure of cognitive complexity, that includes readibility, yielded very different results than readability alone, a commonly used comprehension indicator. Since cognitive complexity is likely to limit comprehension and reduce measurement accuracy, it merits consideration in selection of self-report measures of depression for research and practice.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Depression, Outcome Measures
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.