DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST

RADS-2 SF is a 10-item self-report measure of adolescent depression in school, clinical, and other related
settings (e.g., correctional facilities, general medical care settings, research facilities). The RADS-2 SF is
likely to be individually administered to obtain information about a specific adolescent. It can also be
used as a group screening measure for the identification of adolescents who have a potential risk for
depression. RADS-2 SF is particularly well-suited for screening students.

RADS-2 SF was developed and standardized for ages 11-20 years old. Therefore, there are no data to
support the interpretation for individuals who fall outside the specified age range. However, since RADS-
2 SF has minimal reading demands (3rd grade reading level), people who are younger than 11 years old
may be assessed with caution in interpreting.

Examinees are to select which statement best describes their feelings in regards to the 10
statements/items. The four options are, “Almost never, Hardly ever, Sometimes, or Most of the time.”

In cases where there is some reason to suspect that the respondent might not be able to read at the
third grade level, it may be necessary to administer first a test of reading comprehension to determine
whether to proceed with testing. Alternatively, the RADS-2 SF may be administered aloud, with the
examiner taking care to ensure that responses are made to the appropriate items.

Valid administration of the RADS-2 SF assumes that the respondent is behaviorally and emotionally
capable of meeting the normal demands of testing with self-report instruments. Additionally care should
be taken when testing individuals who by nature have psychological disorder, psychomotor retardation,
distractibility, or extreme emotional distress.

Clinicians should be cautious when testing individuals whose first or native language is not English.

Qualified users include psychologists, counselors, psychiatrists, and social workers who practiced in
variety of settings (e.g., schools, mental health facilities, private practice) as well as researchers and
other professionals (e.g., physicians, nurses) who have appropriate training in the use and interpretation
of psychological tests. Graduate students may also use RADS-2 SF if they have completed relevant
course work in psychological testing and test interpretation and are practicing under the supervision of a
licensed professional.

The test booklet includes examinee instructions for completing the test and marking responses, spaces
for demographic information, and the items and response options. The examinee circles the number
associated with the appropriate response option.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE TEST

Test Environment: Must be conducted in a private setting (office of the counselor/clinician) or setting
that is free from interruptions (e.g., school classroom). The testing environment should provide
adequate lighting. Procedures should be implemented to protect the confidentiality of the adolescent’s
responses.

Time: Typically, 2-3 minutes to complete. Additional time may be required for special cases.

During group administration, it is recommended that all respondents take it at the same time, mid-
morning (11am to 2pm).

The RADS-2 SF should be introduced to respondents in a neutral manner, not as a measure of

Cutoff score was selected to reduce the number of false negative determinations (deciding the someone
does not have a depression problem when in fact he/she has depression difficulties) which is more
dangerous than false positive determination (deciding that someone has depression when in fact she/he
doesn’t have). Thus it is expected that the cutoff score will result to more false positive selection.
A MULTIPLE GATE SCREENING PROCEDURE

In school setting, it’s really hard to identify every student who have depressive symptoms. They lack self-
referral and some parents are unaware or deny that their children may be depressed. It’s also unrealistic
for teachers to accurately identify depression in adolescents due to the large number of students that
teachers see daily and the limited amount of time teachers have to spend with each student.

Thus, a multiple gate screening procedure was developed by the author (Reynolds, 1986) to proactively
identify depression among adolescents. This procedure progresses from large group screening with
brief, cost-effective measures to more specific and individual evaluation, with fewer adolescents
evaluated at each successive gate.

GATE 1: Group Screening

12% to 16% of adolescents obtain scores at or above the cutoff T score of 61. Conducting follow-up
clinical interview on large number of adolescents may be costly in time and resources. Thus, a second
assessment (RADS-2 which is 30 items) is recommended for those who obtain scores at or above the
cutoff score on RADS-2 SF.

Severe range – above a t score of 69

The author found it useful to administer SIQ (Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire) along with RADS-2 SF at
Gate 1. If found in clinical level, must be interview immediately.

Adolescents who put a response of 3 or 4 on item 5 (self-harm) “I feel like hurting myself” should be
interviewed for potential self-injurious thoughts or behaviors, as it is considered as a critical item in
RADS-2 SF.
GATE 2: Small Group Assessment

In second gate (administering RADS-2 for those who score at or above cutoff): can be accomplished by
testing small groups between 10 and 20 students at a time. Students who reported clinically significant
levels of depression on RADS-2 (obtain scores at or above the Total Depression cutoff score) should be
interviewed or referred for services.

GATE 3: Individual Evaluation

Students who report significant depressive symptomatology at gates 1 and 2 should be individually
assessed by qualified professionals using a structured or semi structured clinical interview directed
toward the relevant domains of depression. In addition, the interview should elicit important
information about the adolescent’s life (school, family, peers) as well as major and minor stressors and
social supports.

Although RADS-2 SF is an efficient measure for identifying adolescents who demonstrate clinically
significant levels of depressive symptomatology, it is not a formal diagnostic measure. It is important to
recognize that psychopathology in adolescents may be presented in a variety of clinical manifestations
and that depressive symptomatology in adolescents may be secondary symptom of other mental health
conditions.

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION

The RADS-2 SF is scored in a way where higher values indicate a greater severity of depression.
To obtain valid scores, at least 80% of items should be answered. Meaning no more than two
unanswered items. For one or two unanswered items, total raw score should be prorated by the
number of items left blank using the following formulas:

Round off to the nearest whole number (20.5 = 21). The prorated raw score may be used for the
conversion for the T score and percentile rank.

The respondents should be asked to answer any items left blank. Blank items or items that have been
endorsed and then re-marked should be examined for any patterns or suggestions of unusual
responding. Attention should be paid to items left blank, as these may indicate deliberate attempts to
avoid disclosing specific behaviors or symptoms.

Example:

Raw Score: 29
T score: 65-69
Percentile: 94-96
Interpretation: Moderate Depression
Although not a diagnostic or predictive measure, it provides useful clinical information on an
adolescents’ current level of depressive symptoms. The total raw scores have a possible range of 10 to
40, although raw scores above 35 are rare. The cut off score (61) provides a basis for the identification of
adolescents who may be at risk for a depressive or related disorder and for whom further evaluation
may be needed.

Interpretation of RADS-2 SF scores should be conducted with the understanding that adolescents with
specific mental health disorders other than depression may report a RADS-2 SF total score above the cut
off. A number of psychological disorders are associated with generalized distress that may include
multiple symptoms of depression. It is not unusual to find elevated RADS-2 SF scores in adolescents with
various anxiety disorders, such as PTSD, GAD, as well as adjustment disorder with depressed mood. In
some cases, the adolescent may show symptoms of depression that is a response to a specific stressor,
or the symptoms may be transient in nature.

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

Overall, the RADS-2: SF has strong reliability and validity and is psychometrically sound.  Internal
consistency for the non-clinical normative group was .84, and was .90 with the clinical group, both
indicating good correlations between the different items in assessing depression. The test-retest
reliability over a 2-week period was .82 for both the non-clinical comparative sample and clinical sample,
indicating moderately strong test-retest reliability. The content validity is also very good, and stressed
the symptom sampling and the degree to which each item relates to the overall test. The symptom
content is consistent with the DSM-IV symptoms of major depressive disorder (Mental Measurements
Yearbook, 2010).  In regards to criterion-related validity, the RADS-2: SF has high correlation with the
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (.80) and Beck Depression Inventory (.80). The RADS-2: SF is a one-
dimensional screening measure for depression in adolescence. Convergent and discriminatory validity
demonstrate positive correlations with depression, suicidal ideation/behavior, hopelessness, and
negative correlations with measure of self-esteem and self-concept (Mental Measurements Yearbook,
2010).

Erik Ekbäck, Ida Blomqvist, Inga Dennhag & Eva Henje (2022) Psychometric properties of the Swedish
version of the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale second edition (RADS-2) in a clinical sample, Nordic
Journal of Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2022.2128409

Appendix A – raw score to T score and percentile rank conversions based on the total standardization
sample of 3,300 adolescents ages 11 to 20 years old.
Appendix B and C – raw score to T score and percentile rank conversions based on gender and age
groups, respectively, within the total standardization sample.
Appendix D and E – set of instructions

Chapter 2- appropriate normative group