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A comparison of assessment methods for depression in mental retardation

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Abstract

Investigated the association between various depression assessment methods in 38 adults with mild or moderate mental retardation, half of whom had relatively high and the other half had relatively low depression screening scores. Measures included a standard psychiatric interview (Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents), an informant rating scale (Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behavior), and a self-report measure (Self-Report Depression Questionnaire). Association between measures was generally low, yielding discordant classification results. Potential reasons for these discrepancies were offered, and implications for clinical and research assessment of mood disorders in mental retardation were discussed.

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Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Mental Health Research Network on the Psychobiology of Depression, and by grants awarded to The Ohio State University Nisonger Center for Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities (Grant No. 07DD0270/16) and the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health and Resources Development, Division of Maternal and Child Health (Grant MO No. 922). The data were collected as part of the second author's doctoral dissertation research project in psychology at The Ohio State University. We acknowledge Michael G. Aman's thoughtful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Rojahn, J., Warren, V.J. & Ohringer, S. A comparison of assessment methods for depression in mental retardation. J Autism Dev Disord 24, 305–313 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02172229

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