Validity of the Male Depression Risk Scale in a representative Canadian sample: sensitivity and specificity in...

Clinical practice and literature has supported the existence of a phenotypic sub-type of depression in men. While a number of self-report rating scales have been developed in order to empirically test the male depression construct, psychometric validation of these scales is limited.

To confirm the psychometric properties of the multidimensional Male Depression Risk Scale (MDRS-22) and to develop clinical cut-off scores for the MDRS-22.

Data were obtained from an online sample of 1000 Canadian men (median age (M) = 49.63, standard deviation (SD) = 14.60). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to replicate the established six-factor model of the MDRS-22.

Psychometric values of the MDRS subscales were comparable to the widely used Patient Health Questionnaire-9. CFA model fit indices indicated adequate model fit for the six-factor MDRS-22 model. ROC curve analysis indicated the MDRS-22 was effective for identifying those with a recent (previous four-weeks) suicide attempt (area under curve (AUC) values = 0.837). The MDRS-22 cut-off identified proportionally more (84.62%) cases of recent suicide attempt relative to the PHQ-9 moderate range (53.85%).

The MDRS-22 is the first male-sensitive depression scale to be psychometrically validated using CFA techniques in independent and cross-nation samples. Additional studies should identify differential item functioning and evaluate cross-cultural effects.