Establishing Normative Anxiety and Depression Levels With PROMIS Parent Proxy Measures

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychology
• Psychometric Measurement
• Mental Health Assessment

Background:

• Childhood anxiety and depression are significant public health concerns.
• The PROMIS Parent Proxy Measures offer a validated, accessible method for symptom assessment.
• Improved interpretability of these measures is crucial for clinical and research applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the PROMIS v3.0 Parent Proxy Measures for childhood anxiety and depression.
• To establish updated normative data for children aged 5-17 in the U.S.
• To enhance the interpretability and clinical utility of the PROMIS measures.

Main Methods:

• Recruited a nationally representative sample of 1,213 U.S. parents of children aged 5-17.
• Administered the PROMIS v3.0 Parent Proxy Measures for anxiety and depressive symptoms.
• Analyzed data to assess scoring system validity, standard deviations, floor effects, and demographic differences.

Main Results:

• The PROMIS v3.0 scoring system was largely validated, with means and medians near 50.
• Observed narrower standard deviations than previously published, indicating potential under-identification of dysfunction.
• Identified strong floor effects, limiting differentiation among youth without symptoms; noted age and gender differences emerging in adolescence.

Conclusions:

• The study largely supports the PROMIS v3.0 Parent Proxy Measures' scoring system.
• Updated normative data are recommended for accurate interpretation of childhood anxiety and depression symptom scores.
• Clinicians and researchers can utilize these new norms to better contextualize individual youth scores within the broader population.