Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Dec 30, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Dec 30, 2024 - Feb 24, 2025
Date Accepted: May 21, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Development and Validation of Depression Scale for Online Assessment: Cross-Sectional Observational Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Modern social, demographic, and technological changes have significantly influenced the expression and evaluation of depression. With the rise of social media, traditional tools may fail to capture contemporary expressions of depressive symptoms, necessitating the development of new assessment measures tailored for the digital context.
Objective:
This study aimed to develop and validate the Depression Scale for Online Assessment (DSO), a tool specifically designed to capture modern expressions of depression, particularly those reflected on social media.
Methods:
A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted with a community sample of 1,216 adults. The scale’s items were developed based on expert reviews and social media research. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to identify and validate the underlying factors. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing the DSO with established depression scales, including the K-CESD-R and PHQ-9.
Results:
The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated excellent internal consistency for the DSO. Strong convergent validity was observed with the K-CESD-R and PHQ-9, confirming the DSO’s robustness. The scale was found to align with contemporary communication styles and was user-friendly in format.
Conclusions:
The DSO addresses a critical gap in mental health assessment for the digital era. By reflecting modern expressions of depression and offering a practical design, the scale holds significant potential for application in both clinical and research settings.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.