The internal and external validity of the Major Depression Inventory in measuring severity of depressive states

Background. We have developed the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), consisting of 10 items, covering the DSM-IV as well as the ICD-10 symptoms of depressive illness. We aimed to evaluate this as a scale measuring severity of depressive states with reference to both internal and external validity. Me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine 2003-02, Vol.33 (2), p.351-356
Main Authors: OLSEN, L. R., JENSEN, D. V., NOERHOLM, V., MARTINY, K., BECH, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Algorithms
Biological and medical sciences
Brief Communication
Denmark
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Humans
Internal validity
Major Depression Inventory
Male
Measuring instruments
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Middle Aged
Psychiatric research
Psychological tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Quantitative psychology
Questionnaires
Rasch model
Reproducibility of Results
Rheumatology
Severity
Severity of Illness Index
Statistical analysis
Surveys and Questionnaires
Techniques and methods
Validity
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Summary:Background. We have developed the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), consisting of 10 items, covering the DSM-IV as well as the ICD-10 symptoms of depressive illness. We aimed to evaluate this as a scale measuring severity of depressive states with reference to both internal and external validity. Method. Patients representing the score range from no depression to marked depression on the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) completed the MDI. Both classical and modern psychometric methods were applied for the evaluation of validity, including the Rasch analysis. Results. In total, 91 patients were included. The results showed that the MDI had an adequate internal validity in being a unidimensional scale (the total score an appropriate or sufficient statistic). The external validity of the MDI was also confirmed as the total score of the MDI correlated significantly with the HAM-D (Pearson's coefficient 0·86, P[les ]0·01, Spearman 0·80, P[les ]0·01). Conclusion. When used in a sample of patients with different states of depression the MDI has an adequate internal and external validity.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291702006724