Brief report Self- and clinician-rated Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale: Evaluation in clinical practice G. Bondolfi a, ⁎, F. Jermann a , B. Weber Rouget a , M. Gex-Fabry a , A. McQuillan a , A. Dupont-Willemin a , J.-M. Aubry a , C. Nguyen a,b a Geneva University Hospitals, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Adult Psychiatry, Geneva, Switzerland b Centre Psycho-Social Neuchâtelois, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland article info abstract Article history: Received 23 March 2009 Received in revised form 30 June 2009 Accepted 30 June 2009 Available online 5 August 2009 Background: Time- and cost-effective self-rating scales of depressive symptoms are particularly valuable for frequent use in large-scale effectiveness trials. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the French version of the self-rated Montgomery– Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) and determine whether it might complement the MADRS in monitoring depression severity and change over time in routine clinical practice. Methods: Sixty-three adult outpatients with a current depressive episode completed the MADRS-S and were interviewed with the MADRS on two occasions, within a 1-month interval. Results: All patients readily accepted the MADRS-S. It showed good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.85 at Time 1; 0.94 at Time 2). Its factor structure revealed that a single component explained a large proportion of variability (47.0% at Time 1; 68.8% at Time 2). Concurrent validity of the self- and clinician-rated versions was good (Pearson's correlation coefficients for total scores 0.81 at Time 1; 0.91 at Time 2). The MADRS-S was sensitive to change over the 4-week observation period (correlation of 0.71 between change scores on self- and clinician-rated instruments). Limitations: Generalizability is restricted to outpatients with moderate to severe depression, and the MADRS-S ability to measure treatment effects needs to be examined. Conclusions: The present study indicates that the MADRS-S displays favourable psychometric properties and suggests that it might be a valid complement to the MADRS, both in research settings and clinical practice. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: MADRS Self-rating Depression MADRS-S 1. Introduction Randomized controlled trials have traditionally relied on clinician-rated instruments to study treatment efficacy (Depres- sion Guideline Panel, 1993). The two most frequently used instruments are the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) (Hamilton,1960), often considered as the gold standard, and the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) (Mon- tgomery and Asberg, 1979), specifically designed to be sensitive to change and considered as a reference in Europe. With an increasing number of trials failing to show superiority of antidepressant treatment over placebo, diffi- culties associated with clinician ratings have been invoked as possible sources of poor signal detection, e.g. poor inter-rater reliability, rater bias and variable clinical skills of interviewers (Khan et al., 2002; Kobak et al., 2007). Self-reports, such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (Beck et al., 1961), have been criticized for discrepancies with respect to clinician ratings, partly associated with sociodemographic, clinical and personality variables (Enns et al., 2000). Nevertheless, newer self-reports have progressively gained acceptance. In partic- ular, the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR⁎D) study introduced several self-rated scales, e.g. the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report (QIDS-SR 16 ), that were as Journal of Affective Disorders 121 (2010) 268–272 ⁎ Corresponding author. Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), Programme Dépression, 6-8, rue du XXXI Décembre, CH-1207 Geneva, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 22 718 45 22; fax: +4122 718 45 99. E-mail address: guido.bondolfi@hcuge.ch (G. Bondolfi). 0165-0327/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2009.06.037 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Affective Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jad