Alternative Forms
French, Italian, and Chinese translations of the CRS exist (6, p189).
A 12-item abbreviation of the CRS, the Brief Carroll Depression Rating Scale (BCDRS) has been used as a depression screening tool for older adults (8). It requires about two minutes to complete. Koenig et al. tested the BCDRS as a screen for depression on 64 older medically ill hospital patients; a cutoff of 6 was optimal, giving a 100% sensitivity for detecting clinically diagnosed DSM-III depression at a specificity of 93%. Kappa agreement with the clinician’s rating was 0.76 (8, Table 2). In a separate study,
however, they reported less satisfactory results: sensitivity and specificity were 73% and 79%, respectively; among those whose results were positive, the likelihood of a diagnosis of major depressive disorder was 28% (9, Table 2).