A rapid screening test for depression in junior high school children

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Mental Health Screening
• Psychometric Instrument Development

Background:

• Depression poses a significant global health burden, with early onset in youth linked to adverse long-term outcomes.
• Adolescent depression requires effective screening tools for timely intervention.
• Developing a reliable screening instrument for Taiwanese adolescents is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rapid screening tool for early detection of depression in adolescents.
• To create a user-friendly instrument for assessing depressive symptoms in junior high school students.

Main Methods:

• 662 junior high students completed the Screening Test for Depression (STD).
• Psychiatric interviews using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Kid validated the Rapid STD (RSTD).
• Logistic regression analysis of STD data informed RSTD item selection.

Main Results:

• The RSTD comprises four key items: sleep disturbance, suicidal ideation, feelings of worthlessness/guilt, and psychomotor changes.
• An algorithm using any two of the first three items achieved 75.0% sensitivity and 92.9% specificity for major depressive disorder.
• An algorithm using any two of the four items achieved 71.4% sensitivity and 92.0% specificity for depressive disorders.

Conclusions:

• The 4-item RSTD is a practical tool for assessing depression risk in junior high students.
• The RSTD facilitates timely assessment of major depressive disorder and depressive disorders.
• This tool supports ongoing monitoring of mental health in adolescent populations.