Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun 25;17(3):10.4088/PCC.14m01758.
doi: 10.4088/PCC.14m01758. eCollection 2015.

Comparison Between the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale-Self and the Beck Depression Inventory II in Primary Care

Carl Wikberg  1 , Shabnam Nejati  1 , Maria E H Larsson  1 , Eva-Lisa Petersson  1 , Jeanette Westman  1 , Nashmil Ariai  1 , Marie Kivi  1 , Maria Eriksson  1 , Robert Eggertsen  1 , Dominique Hange  1 , Amir Baigi  1 , Cecilia Björkelund  1
Affiliations

Comparison Between the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale-Self and the Beck Depression Inventory II in Primary Care

Carl Wikberg et al. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. .

Abstract

Objective: The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale-Self (MADRS-S) and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) are commonly used self-assessment instruments for screening and diagnosis of depression. The BDI-II has 21 items and the MADRS-S has 9 items. These instruments have been tested with psychiatric inpatients but not in outpatient primary care, where most patients with symptoms of depression initially seek treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare these 2 instruments in the primary care setting.

Method: Data were collected from 2 primary care randomized controlled trials that were performed from 2010 to 2013 in Sweden: the Primary Care Self-Assessment MADRS-S Study and Primary Care Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Study. There were 146 patients (73 patients each from both trials) who had newly diagnosed mild or moderate depression (per DSM-IV recommendations) and who had assessment with both the MADRS-S and BDI-II at primary care centers. Comparability and reliability of the instruments were estimated by Pearson product moment correlation and Cronbach α.

Results: A good correlation was observed between the 2 instruments: 0.66 and 0.62 in the 2 study cohorts. The reliability within the 2 study cohorts was good for both MADRS-S (Cronbach α: 0.76 for both cohorts) and BDI-II items (Cronbach α: 0.88 and 0.85).

Conclusions: The 2 instruments showed good comparability and reliability for low, middle, and high total depression scores. The MADRS-S may be used as a rapid, easily administered, and inexpensive tool in primary care and has results comparable to the BDI-II in all domains.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study Flowchart Abbreviations: BDI-II = Beck Depression Inventory II, MADRS-S = Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale–Self, MINI = Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, PRIME-MD = Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders, PRIM-NET = Primary Care Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Study, PRI-SMA = Primary Care Self-Assessment Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale–Self Study.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Correlation Between 2 Depression Rating Scales in Primary Care: The MADRS-S and BDI-II Scores Were Compared With MADRS-S (I, III) and BDI-II (II, IV) Cutoff Scores as Reference for the 73 Participants in the PRI-SMA Study and the 73 Participants in the PRIM-NET Study; the Table Below the Graphs Shows Mean Score Within Each Classification (MADRS-S and BDI-II) Abbreviations: BDI-II = Beck Depression Inventory II, MADRS-S = Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale–Self, PRIM-NET = Primary Care Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Study, PRI-SMA = Primary Care Self-Assessment Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale–Self Study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mathers CD, Loncar D. Projections of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Med. 2006;3(11):e442. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Katon W, Schulberg H. Epidemiology of depression in primary care. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1992;14(4):237–247. - PubMed
    1. Mitchell AJ, Vaze A, Rao S. Clinical diagnosis of depression in primary care: a meta-analysis. Lancet. 2009;374(9690):609–619. - PubMed
    1. Montgomery SA, Asberg M. A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. Br J Psychiatry. 1979;134(4):382–389. - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Steer RA, Carbin MG. Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clin Psychol Rev. 1988;8(1):77–100.