Evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of depression screening tools among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Research to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Glasgow Depression Scale for People with a Learning Disability (GDS-LD) was conducted. Subjects were 75 adults with mild or moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Participants' responses to the BDI II and GDS-LD were compared to clinical interviews utilizing the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disabilities 10(PAS-ADD 10). A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of various scores on the BDI-II and GDS-LD compared to the results (clinical depression present vs. clinical depression not present) of the clinical interview. The area under the ROC curve was .91 for the BDI II and .90 for the GDS-LD, indicating good discrimination for both tools. A score of 14 on the GDS-LD has a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 83%. A score of 11 on the BDII has a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 81%. Data indicate the usefulness of these measures in screening for depression among adults with mild or moderate I/DD. A second phase of the research to address the potential of the two measures to detect the effects of depression treatment has begun. Identifying a depression screening tool(s) with adequate sensitivity and specificity and capable of detecting depression treatment effects is important in selecting subjects with I/DD for participation in depression intervention research and in detecting intervention effects, and has the potential to affect research on depression treatment among individuals with I/DD.