The Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale: Factor structure and psychometric properties in older adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder.
HADS is a trustworthy, fast way to spot anxiety and depression in teens and young adults with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Uljarević et al. (2018) tested the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in teens and young adults with autism.
They wanted to know if the brief self-report form gives reliable anxiety and depression scores in this age group.
The team checked internal consistency and convergent validity, not treatment outcomes.
What they found
HADS anxiety items hung together well and matched other anxiety measures.
Depression items were acceptable, though a bit weaker.
Overall, the scale is psychometrically sound for quick screening in ASD youth.
How this fits with other research
Taylor et al. (2017) extend the idea upward. They showed the Dutch HAP questionnaire can flag ASD traits in adults over 60.
Together, the two studies cover the lifespan: HADS for mood in teens/young adults, HAP for core ASD signs in seniors.
McGeown et al. (2013) used a different tool, the Mini PAS-ADD, in adults with intellectual disability. Like Mirko, they found moderate reliability, hinting that brief screens work but need cautious interpretation when ID is present.
Kuenssberg et al. (2011) remind us that factor structure can wobble: the Adult Asperger Assessment did not cleanly load into classic domains. Mirko’s cleaner HADS results suggest mood items may group more neatly than broad ASD traits.
Why it matters
You now have evidence that HADS is a quick, valid mood screener for high-school and college-age clients with ASD.
Add it to intake packets, re-assess every six months, and use scores to guide referrals to mental-health providers.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
UNLABELLED: Despite the high frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and a significant impact of these comorbidities on both individuals with ASD and their families, research on the validity of anxiety and depression measures in the ASD population is currently lacking. The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS; Zigmond & Snaith, ] in a sample of older adolescents and young adults with ASD. One hundred and fifty one participants (UK Transition longitudinal study: N = 106; 75 males, Mage = 16.04 years, SD = 1.28; Longitudinal Study of Australian Schools Leavers with ASD: N = 45, 30 males; Mage = 18.35 years, SD = 2.55) completed the HADS and a range of mental health and well-being measures. Combination of the Principal Component Analysis and Parallel Analysis indicated two factors as an optimal solution in our sample, accounting for 43.77% of variance with factors being identical in terms of content with the structure found in the general population. Internal consistency was good for the HADS anxiety scale (HADS-A; .82-.84) and acceptable for the HADS depression scale (HADS-D; .60-.72). Convergent validity of both HADS-A and HADS-D scales was excellent and divergent validity was acceptable. Our study represents a significant contribution to the literature by providing an initial validation of the HADS in older adolescents and younger adults with ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 258-269. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Research on the validity of measurement of anxiety and depression in ASD is currently lacking. The aim of this study was to explore the properties of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in a sample of 151 young people with ASD. Participants completed HADS and a range of mental health and well-being measures. Encouragingly, our findings suggest that HADS provides a reliable and valid assessment of anxiety and depression in ASD.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2018 · doi:10.1002/aur.1872