Comparing apples and oranges in youth depression treatments? A quantitative critique of the evidence base and guidelines.

Objectives: Should a young person receive psychotherapy or medication for their depression and on what evidence do we base this decision? In this paper, we test the factors across modalities that may influence comparability between medication and psychotherapy trials.

Methods: We included 92 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychotherapy and medication for child and adolescent depression (mean age 4-18 years). Using meta-analyses, we compared (a) participant characteristics and (b) trial characteristics in medication and psychotherapy trials.

THE DEPRESSION INVENTORY DEVELOPMENT SCALE: Assessment of Psychometric Properties Using Classical and Modern Measurement Theory in a CAN-BIND Trial.

The goal of the Depression Inventory Development (DID) project is to develop a comprehensive and psychometrically sound rating scale for major depressive disorder (MDD) that reflects current diagnostic criteria and conceptualizations of depression. We report here the evaluation of the current DID item bank using Classical Test Theory (CTT), Item Response Theory (IRT) and Rasch Measurement Theory (RMT). The present study was part of a larger multisite, open-label study conducted by the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (ClinicalTrials.