Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Mini Depression Status Test (MDST-TR)

Objectives: Depression is a frequent mental disorder. Easy and fast tools for screening depression are of high relevance. Common screenings require sufficient abilities to understand the information on the questionnaires. For patients with a migration background, these factors can be problematic. Method: The present cross-sectional study was conducted with 329 participants (293 healthy and 36 clinical participants). We analyzed the internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's a coefficient and the test-retest reliability using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. We determined the cut-off scores using receiver operating characteristics (ROC). Results: MDST shows high construct validity (r(s) = -.55, p < .001), satisfying internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's a for overall sample = .76) and good reliability in terms of test-retest reliability (r(s) = .55) among Turkish migrants. Discussion: The MDST is a valid screening instrument for depressive symptoms in clinical and healthy Turkish migrants living in Germany.