Explore psychometric properties of depression screening instruments along with a detailed comparison of eight frequently used adolescent mental health screeners, including the Beck inventories, PHQ-A, and MFQ.
Suggested Citation
Adolescent Depression Screening Instruments: A Review of Existing Instruments to Screen for Adolescent Depression (2022). Project ASPEN. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University. Retrieved from https://cesp.rutgers.edu/.
A review of the most prevalent and recommended screening instruments was conducted to better inform policy and practice concerning the selection of the appropriate adolescent depression screening instrument. This paper details key findings from the review.
Prevention and early detection of adolescent depression is a national health priority and a key recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Despite current guidelines that recommend conducting routine screening for depression during teen years, policymakers, school administrators, caregivers and other stakeholders express concerns about the implementation and sustainability of schoolbased screening programs. Of particular concern is the identification and selection of the appropriate screening instrument that can effectively, efficiently, and safely identify students in need of mental health services. Several screening instruments have been developed and validated for school settings (Bernaras et al., 2019; Forman-Hoffman et al., 2016), making the task of instrument selection feasible.
Project ASPEN is a collaboration between a team of researchers from Rutgers University and the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Jersey (NAMI-NJ) to improve policy decision-makers’ access to credible and timely research evidence regarding different aspects of formulating and implementing sound youth mental health policies. The project is funded by a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation.