- Call 99999 99999
Modified from the PHQ-A (J. Johnson, 2002) for research and evaluation purposes
Johnson, J. G., Harris, E. S., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2002). The Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents: Validation of an instrument for the assessment of mental disorders among adolescent primary care patients. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30(3), 196–204. Reference
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The Severity Measure for Depression—Child Age 11–17 (adapted from PHQ-9 modified for Adolescents [PHQ-A]) is a 9-item measure that assesses the severity of depressive disorders and episodes (or clinically significant symptoms of depressive disorders and episodes) in children ages 11–17. The measure is completed by the child prior to a visit with the clinician. Each item asks the child to rate the severity of his or her depression symptoms during the past 7 days.
Each item on the measure is rated on a 4-point scale (0=Not at all; 1=Several days; 2=More than half the days; and 3=Nearly every day). The total score can range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depression. The clinician is asked to review the score of each item on the measure during the clinical interview and indicate the raw score in the section provided for “Clinician Use.” The raw scores on the 9 items should be summed to obtain a total raw score and should be interpreted using the table below:
0 – 4
None
5 – 9
Mild
10 – 14
Moderate
5 – 19
Moderately severe
21 – 27
Severe
Note: If 3 or more items are left unanswered, the total raw score on the measure should not be used. Therefore, the child should be encouraged to complete all of the items on the measure. If 1 or 2 items are left unanswered, you are asked to calculate a prorated score. The prorated score is calculated by summing the scores of items that were answered to get a partial raw score. Multiply the partial raw score by the total number of items on the PHQ-9 modified for Adolescents (PHQ-A)—Modified (i.e., 9) and divide the value by the number of items that were actually answered (i.e., 7 or 8). The formula to prorate the partial raw score to Total Raw Score is:
(Raw sum x 9)
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Number of items that were actually answered
To track changes in the severity of the child’s depression over time, the measure may be completed at regular intervals as clinically indicated, depending on the stability of the child’s symptoms and treatment status. Consistently high scores on a particular domain may indicate significant and problematic areas for the child that might warrant further assessment, treatment, and follow-up. Your clinical judgment should guide your decision.
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