Validation of the Brief Children's Depression Rating Scale in Children Treated With Selegiline Transdermal Patch vs Placebo.

Objective: Brief adaptations of existing rating scales may have advantages for research and clinical practice. This study examined the relative performance and psychometric properties of the 5-item Brief Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (BCDRS-R5) in the context of a placebo-controlled clinical trial. Method: The present study evaluated the internal consistency, scale dimensionality, relative performance in identifying remission and response, and sensitivity to change of the BCDRS-R5 in outpatients (N = 296) 12 to 17 years of age with major depressive disorder enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group trial of the selegiline transdermal patch. Results: The Cronbach coefficient alpha of the BCDRS-R5 ranged from 0.679 at baseline to 0.866 at week 12. A 1-factor solution for the BCDRS-R5 is suggested by the principal component analysis. The BCDRS-R5 demonstrated good accuracy in detecting response and remission. Conclusion: The BCDRS-R5 has good performance and is sensitive to change in symptom severity over 12 weeks of treatment, with either medication or placebo, when compared with the longer, standard CDRS-R17. Clinical trial registration information: Phase IV:Safety and Efficacy of EMSAM in Adolescents With Major Depression; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00531947. Diversity & Inclusion Statement: We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our reference list. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list.