The assessment of depression in aphasic stroke patients: the development of the Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire

Objective: The Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire (SADQ) was developed to detect depressed mood in aphasic patients in the community. Design: Correlation analysis between new questionnaire and established measures. Setting: Patients at home. Methods: Seventy stroke patients who had been discharged from hospital were assessed on the SADQ, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Wakefield Depression Inventory. The SADQ was also administered to 17 aphasic patients on two occasions at a four-week interval. Results: Results indicated that scores on the SADQ were significantly related to other measures of depression ( r s ) = 0.22–0.52, p <0.05). A shortened 10-item version showed higher validity ( r s = 0.32–0.67, p <0.01). Test–retest analysis indicated the SADQ is reliable over a four-week interval ( r s = 0.72, p <0.001). Conclusions: The SADQ may be used for assessing depressed mood in aphasic patients in the community though further validation is required.