Achieving Depression Literacy: The Adolescent Depression Knowledge Questionnaire (ADKQ)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Education

Background:

• Mental health literacy is crucial for prevention and intervention.
• A validated measure for adolescent depression literacy was lacking.
• The Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP) is a school-based intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Adolescent Depression Knowledge Questionnaire (ADKQ).
• To assess depression knowledge and attitudes in adolescents before and after the ADAP intervention.
• To examine the psychometric properties of the ADKQ, including measurement invariance.

Main Methods:

• The ADKQ was administered to 8,216 high school students pre- and post-intervention.
• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the latent structure of the Knowledge section.
• Measurement invariance was tested across gender, instructor type, and time (pre- to post-test).
• Categories were developed for the open-ended Attitudes section.

Main Results:

• A one-factor latent structure (General Knowledge) best fit the data for the Knowledge section.
• The ADKQ demonstrated measurement invariance across gender, instructor type, and pre- to post-test.
• Categories for the Attitudes section were successfully developed.
• Psychometric evidence supports the ADKQ's validity for evaluating adolescent depression literacy.

Conclusions:

• The ADKQ is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing adolescent depression literacy.
• The ADKQ can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions like ADAP.
• The developed categories for the Attitudes section will facilitate quantitative evaluation.