Use of the reasons for depression questionnaire with adolescents

The Reasons For Depression Questionnaire (RFD) was developed to examine the explanations that people give for being depressed. In its original form it was evaluated with samples of non-depressed and depressed university students and other adults. The data reported here were used to evaluate the use of the RFD with a community sample of New Zealand adolescents. While the underlying eight-factor structure reported by the original authors was confirmed, with the addition of a ninth biological factor, additional principal component-factor analysis supported the existence of a six-factor solution for adolescents. The revised factor structure incorporated a revision of the scale's item content. It is proposed that an abbreviated scale (RFD-A) using 35 of the original 48 items would be more appropriate for use with adolescents.