BACKGROUND: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), developed for use with adults, has potential with adolescents. AIMS: To test the HADS's validity with adolescents. METHOD: The HADS was given to 248 schoolchildren and to 48 psychiatric out-patients and 38 deliberate self-harm in-patients aged 12-17, and validated against ICD-10 diagnoses for the out-patients. RESULTS: The HADS has adequate test-retest reliability and factor structure, and discriminates between adolescents diagnosed with depressive or anxiety disorders and those without these diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the HADS and its shortness make it useful for screening and in clinical settings with adolescents.
BACKGROUND: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), developed for use with adults, has potential with adolescents. AIMS: To test the HADS's validity with adolescents. METHOD: The HADS was given to 248 schoolchildren and to 48 psychiatric out-patients and 38 deliberate self-harm in-patients aged 12-17, and validated against ICD-10 diagnoses for the out-patients. RESULTS: The HADS has adequate test-retest reliability and factor structure, and discriminates between adolescents diagnosed with depressive or anxiety disorders and those without these diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the HADS and its shortness make it useful for screening and in clinical settings with adolescents.
Authors: Maria Kinali; Virginia Arechavala-Gomeza; Lucy Feng; Sebahattin Cirak; David Hunt; Carl Adkin; Michela Guglieri; Emma Ashton; Stephen Abbs; Petros Nihoyannopoulos; Maria Elena Garralda; Mary Rutherford; Caroline McCulley; Linda Popplewell; Ian R Graham; George Dickson; Matthew J A Wood; Dominic J Wells; Steve D Wilton; Ryszard Kole; Volker Straub; Kate Bushby; Caroline Sewry; Jennifer E Morgan; Francesco Muntoni Journal: Lancet Neurol Date: 2009-08-25 Impact factor: 44.182