The reliability and validity of the inventory to diagnose depression in alcohol-dependent men and women

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the reliability and validity of the Inventory to Diagnose Depression (IDD) in alcohol-dependent men and women. The IDD is a self-report instrument that provides a continuous score reflecting depression severity and a DSM-IV major depression diagnosis (MDD).

Methods: Participants (N = 57) were administered the IDD, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the mood module of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID).

Results: Internal reliability and item-total correlations were generally good and the IDD severity score correlated highly with the BDI. The diagnostic performance of the IDD using the DSM-IV scoring algorithm was good overall but excellent for currently abstinent participants and fair for participants who had recently consumed alcohol. The IDD cut-off score for identifying cases of depression appears stringent compared to the BDI and SCID.

Implications: The present investigation provides some support for the use of the IDD with abstinent alcoholic outpatient samples when a self-report diagnostic instrument is desirable. For a current drinker, a positive IDD does not distinguish between an alcohol-induced depression and MDD.