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Validation and psychometric properties of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale - Self-Report (MADRS-S) for
Ana Tomás1, Raquel Guiomar2, Paula Vagos3
1Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, 3000-115, Coimbra, Portugal.
Objectives:
Depression is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. This study examined the psychometric properties and factor structure of the self-rated Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) in a European Portuguese population, including reliability, convergent validity, agreement with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the appropriateness of the original cut-off scores.
Methods:
270 participants (75.6% women; mean age = 31.59, SD = 12.26) completed an online protocol including the European Portuguese MADRS-S and the BDI-II; 30 completed the protocol again one month later. Internal consistency, reliability, factorial structure (CFA), convergent validity, agreement analyses, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted.
Results:
The MADRS-S showed good internal consistency (α = 0.86), excellent temporal stability (ICC = 0.95), and an adequate one-factor structure. Convergent validity with BDI-II was strong (r = 0.87). ROC analyses showed strong agreement with BDI-II severity classifications (AUC = 0.93; cut-off = 11). Agreement was substantial for total scores (ICC = 0.83), but fair for categorical classifications (κ = 0.30). ROC analyses suggested limited differentiation at lower severity levels but good discrimination for moderate and severe symptoms.
Conclusions:
The European Portuguese MADRS-S demonstrates solid psychometric properties. The original cut-off scores appear appropriate for distinguishing levels of self-reported depressive symptom severity within this sample, although categorical interpretations should be applied cautiously at lower severity levels. Further studies using clinical samples and structured diagnostic interviews are needed.
