Reliability and Validity of the Chen Depression Scale: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is an important psychiatric illness worldwide. We developed the Chen Depression Scale (CDS) based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. In this study, we intended to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CDS. Methods: The sample consisted of 135 adult participants aged between 20 and 64 years, including 85 individuals with MDD recruited at a teaching hospital, and 50 community-based non-MDD controls. Depressive symptoms were assessed using CDS and the Chinese version of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (C-PHQ-9). We investigated the psychometric properties of CDS, including test–retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, sensitivity and specificity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and construct validity. Results: The result showed that the CDS had excellent internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.957) and test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.843). Construct validity was examined with confirmatory factor analyses to verify the factor structure of the CDS and convergent validity with C-PHQ-9 with a statistically high correlation with Pearson’s r with p < 0.001. When evaluating the impairment criterion for identifying individuals with MDD, those who reported impairment in MDD symptoms and scored a CDS of 17 or above exhibited a sensitivity of 0.86 and a specificity of 0.96 for CDS. Conclusion: The CDS has good psychometric properties, including excellent reliability and sensitivity and diagnostic properties at cutoff point 17. It serves effectively as a screening tool for both clinical diagnosis and academic study of depression.