The Concise Health Risk Tracking-Self Report: Psychometrics within a placebo-controlled antidepressant trial among...

While substantial prior research has evaluated the psychometric properties of the 12-item Concise Health Risk Tracking-Self Report (CHRT-SR₁₂), a measure of suicide propensity and suicidal thoughts, no prior research has investigated its factor structure, sensitivity to change over time, and other psychometric properties in a placebo-controlled trial of antidepressant medication, nor determined whether symptoms change throughout treatment.

Participants in the multi-site Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response in Clinical Care (EMBARC) study ( n=278) provided data to evaluate the factor structure and sensitivity to change over time of the CHRT-SR₁₂ through eight weeks of a clinical trial in which participants received either placebo or antidepressant medication (sertraline).

Factor analysis confirmed two factors: propensity (comprised of first-order factors including pessimism, helplessness, social support, and despair) and suicidal thoughts. Internal consistency (α's ranged from 0.69-0.92) and external validity were both acceptable, with the total score and propensity factor scores significantly correlated with total scores and single-item suicidal-thoughts scores on the self-report Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms and the clinician-rated 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Through analyzing CHRT-SR₁₂ changes over eight treatment weeks, the total score and both the factors decreased regardless of baseline suicidal thoughts. Change in clinician-rated suicidal thoughts was reflected by change in both the total score and propensity factor score.

These results confirm the reliability, validity, and applicability of the CHRT-SR₁₂ to a placebo-controlled clinical trial of depressed outpatients receiving antidepressant medication.