Psychometric evaluation of two short versions of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale

Abstract

Abstract Background Anxiety and depression are common in children and adolescents, which can be detected via self-report questionnaires in non-clinical settings like the school environment. Two short versions of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (i.e., RCADS-25 and RCADS-20) seem to be feasible for administering at schools. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the RCADS-25 and RCADS-20 used as screening instruments for anxiety and depression in a general population of schoolchildren and adolescents. Methods The RCADS-25 was completed by 69,487 schoolchildren and adolescents aged 8 to 18. The RCADS-25 and RCADS-20 broad anxiety scales are equal (15 items), but there are two versions of the major depressive disorder (MDD) scale: the RCADS-25 MDD scale (10 items) and the RCADS-20 MDD scale (5 items). The three scales were assessed on structural validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, criterion validity, and hypotheses for construct validity. Results The RCADS-25/RCADS-20 broad anxiety scale demonstrated a sufficient structural validity (CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.03, SRMR = 0.03), internal consistency (alpha = 0.82), test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.73), criterion validity (AUC = 0.79), and all four hypotheses concerning construct validity were confirmed. The RCADS-25 MDD scale demonstrated a sufficient test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.70) and three out of four hypotheses concerning construct validity were confirmed, but its structural validity was suspect (CFI = 0.89, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.09, SRMR = 0.06). The RCADS-20 MDD scale demonstrated a sufficient structural validity (CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.04) and internal consistency (alpha = 0.72). Two out of four hypotheses concerning construct validity were confirmed. The test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.60) was insufficient. Since both MDD scales showed shortcomings, the shortening of the RCADS-25 MDD scale was re-examined post hoc by principal component and reliability analyses. The result was an MDD scale with seven items. Conclusions The RCADS-25/RCADS-20 broad anxiety scale is valid and reliable for screening schoolchildren and adolescents, but the RCADS-25 and RCADS-20 MDD scales showed shortcomings. An MDD scale of seven items showed acceptable psychometric properties.