Psychometric properties of the dutch version of the core measure of melancholia

Background RE measure was designed to assess psychomotor symptoms and the probability of melancholia in depressed people. We tested the inter-rater reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the CORE. s -seven elderly, depressed in-patients were studied. The CORE, Salpêtrière Retardation Rating Scale (SRRS), Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms-self-report version (QIDS) and Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were administered. The inter-rater reliability of the CORE was examined by calculating the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of agreement between five independent raters. Construct validity was assessed by calculating Spearman rho (ρ) correlations between CORE and SRRS, QIDS and MADRS measure scores. s C for total CORE scores was 0.80, while, for the CORE sub-scales the ICCs were 0.74 for non-interactiveness, 0.70 for retardation and 0.79 for agitation, indicating high inter-rater reliability. Associations between the CORE and SRRS measures supported the validity of the CORE as a measure of psychomotor disturbance, while correlations between the CORE agitation sub-scale and agitation items derived from the QIDS and MADRS were low to moderate. tions he sample size and the comparator measures of psychomotor disturbance (especially agitation) may have compromised construct validity analyses. sions nter-rater reliability was demonstrated for the Dutch CORE measure. Its validity as a measure of psychomotor disturbance was supported in analyses involving total CORE scores.