Psychometric assessment and clinical application of the Correa-Barrick Depression Rating Scale

This article reports on the psychometric results of a new sef-report depression rating scale from three separate methodological research studies (pilot, main, and replication). Based on classical test theory, psychometric findings supported preliminary validity and reliability in the original study (N = 503), which consisted of a pilot study of 116 participants and a main study of 337 faculty and staff at a mid-Atlantic metropolitan university and 50 outpatients being treated for depression in a private psychiatric practice. The validity and reliability of the new scale was further supported in the replication study (N = 121), which consisted of 96 outpatients and 25 inpatients under treatment for depression. In all three studies, results revealed that severe depression is associated with altered perception, particularly impairment in color sensitivity. Implications for clinical application are discussed.