Test Development Proposal Overview of Assignment Details: Throughout the course, students will conduct research on instruments that are currently used to measure a particular construct, develop a new...

Running Head: TEST DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL                    1
TEST DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL                            8
TEST DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
(CONSTRUCT OF INTEREST: DEPRESSION)
Table of Contents
Abstract    4
Problem Statement    5
Research Question    6
Literature Review    7
Depression: A Disorder    7
Symptoms    7
Types of Depression    8
Major Depressive Disorder    8
Persistent Depressive Disorder    8
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)    9
Psychotic Depression    9
Postpartum Depression    9
Situational Depression    10
Atypical Depression    10
Scales of Depression    10
Beck Depression Inventory BDI-II    10
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)    11
Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)    12
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)    12
Methodology    13
Participant Selection    13
Measures    14
Data Collection    14
Discussion    15
Strengths and Weaknesses    15
Ethical Considerations    16
Limitations    17
References    19
Abstract
The depression measure scale will be developed based on the DSM criteria and Beck Depression Inventory. It will consist of 24 items where the eight symptoms according to the DSM criteria will be measured. This is to understand the severity of the symptoms and the number of symptoms present. This will help individuals understand if the symptoms are of clinical significance. The sampling will be done through cluster sampling and the data will be collected both quantitatively and qualitatively. The qualitative data will be collected from interviews from people diagnosed with depression, who are on the border and people with no mental health illness. The quantitative data will be through surveys.
Problem Statement
Clinical Depression is a mood disorder characterized by three main symptoms, which are persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness and the loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed. For one to be diagnosed with depression, they must possess these symptoms for a duration of 2 weeks and should meet the DSM/ICD criteria of the condition. According to a recent study, almost 264 million people worldwide can be diagnosed with depression.
Depression and Suicide as a co morbidity is the second leading cause of death in the age bracket of 15-29 year olds. This is because oftentimes depression goes undetected. This is why it is necessary to come up with a scale of depression that can be used by the general public. This scale will be able to help the person understand the severity of their symptoms and understand whether they should seek professional help (Slomian, Honvo Emonts, Reginster & Bruyere, 2019).
This would fill the gap where many people do not seek professional help, as they do not think their symptoms are not severe or do not mandate professional help. The scale will be highlighting the symptoms and their severity individually. If more than five symptoms are based on the DSM criteria and they are in the bracket of severity or borderline then the subject can assume that they need to seek professional help (Slomian et al., 2019).
The symptoms that will be measured in the scale will be based on the DSM 5 criteria. The symptoms need to be persisting for more than two weeks for depression to be diagnosed.
· A prolonged mood of sadness throughout the duration of the day
· Diminished Pleasure in previously pleasurable activities
· Significant Weight loss or gain
· Reduction of Physical Movement
· Fatigue or Loss of Energy
· Feelings of worthlessness
· Diminished Ability to perform cognitive activities such as thinking or decision making
· Recurrent thoughts of death and suicidal ideation
Research Question
The main research question that needs to be addressed is the severity of the symptoms and it is to understand whether the person shows enough of the symptoms in order to suspect that they have a clinical form of depression.
The objectives of the test construction will be based on the research question. The objectives of the research are as follows:
· To understand whether the symptoms of depression based on the DSM 5 criteria are present
· To understand how many symptoms of the DSM 5 criteria are present
· To understand the severity of the symptoms present
· To understand whether the symptoms severity and the number of symptoms present are enough to mandate a clinical consultation
The aims of the research studies are the questions based on the objectives, which will help the researcher proceed with the study with the understanding of the questions that need to be answered. The research questions based on the objectives are as follows:
· What are the severities of the symptoms present in the subject?
· How many symptoms of the symptoms from the DSM 5 criteria are present in the study?
· Is the severity and amount of symptoms present enough to recommend the subject consult a clinical psychologist?
Literature Review
Depression: A Disorder
Depression is a mood disorder that is diagnosed by persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest and feelings of hopelessness. This disorder is also known as clinical depression or major depressive disorder. The symptoms must be present in the person for a duration of a minimum of two weeks (von Glischinski, von Brachel & Hirschfeld, 2019). Depression is diagnosed based on the DSM five criteria and the presence of more than five symptoms for the minimum duration will indicate the person is diagnosed with depression.
Symptoms
The symptoms, which are present in the DSM criteria in order for it to be diagnosed, are depressed mood, no interest in activities the person reduced, weight gain or loss, fatigue, slow physical movements, feelings of guilt for no reason, feelings for worthlessness, reduced cognitive ability and suicidal ideation.
As informed by Gold et al. (2020), the elements, which could be associated with major depressive disorder, as it is clinically known, are:
· Higher mortality rates due to suicidal ideation being one of the comorbidities, which occurs with Depression
· Irritability is also another quality that is associated with depression
· Obsessive Rumination
· Anxiety
· Phobias
· Physical pains or major physical illnesses
It may occur with features of mania. The episode may not be able to categorize as a manic episode but is similar in how it occurs.
Types of Depression
Major Depressive Disorder
Major Depression Disorder is the common form of depression. It is categorized by the symptoms being present for a minimum of two weeks (Garcia-Batista, Guerra-Pena, Cano-Vindel, Herrera-Martinez & Medrano, 2018). The symptoms are as follows—
· A major change in weight of the individual can be gain or loss
· Unable to fall asleep
· Tired and fatigued
· No interest in previously enjoyed activities
· Feelings of agitation
· Feelings of restlessness
· Sluggish Movements
· Suicidal ideation
· Feelings of worthlessness
· Feeling of irrational guilt
Persistent Depressive Disorder
When an individual diagnosed with depression has the same conditions and symptoms for over two years. It is known as persistent depressive disorder. As suggested by Łojko and Rybakowski (2017), the course of treatment for persistent depressive disorder is psychotherapy, antidepressants or a combination of both. The symptoms of persistent depressive disorder are—
· A change in the appetite from the regular habits of the person
· Change in their sleeping habits
· They have little or no energy
· They have lower self-esteem
· They have difficulty with cognitive abilities such as decision-making or concentration
· They have feelings of hopelessness
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Seasonal Affective Disorder also known as SAD is depression that occurs in colder countries in the winter months. This occurs when the days are short and the person is accustomed to little or no sunlight (Kok & Reynolds, 2017). This lasts only for the time period of winter and the person becomes different in summer and spring when they are exposed to longer days and more sunlight. The treatment of this type of depression is treated with antidepressants and light therapy.
Psychotic Depression
Psychotic depression occurs when an individual shows symptoms of both major depression along with psychotic features. These psychotic features can include hallucination, delusions and others. The psychotic features, which occur in comorbidity with depression, are:
· Hallucinations are seeing and hearing things that are not real or present
· Delusions are false beliefs, which the patients harbor
· The individuals tend to be paranoid and always feel as if they are unsafe
As recommended by Lim et al. (2018), this is treated with a mix of medications that help to cure both the depressive and...