The DOI matches its Crossref record; 49 of the 52 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Development and validation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) in a community sample and individuals with major depression
Abstract
Anhedonia, a core symptom of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), is predictive of antidepressant non-response. In contrast to the definition of anhedonia as a "loss of pleasure", neuropsychological studies provide evidence for multiple facets of hedonic function. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS), a dynamic scale that measures desire, motivation, effort and consummatory pleasure across hedonic domains. Following item selection procedures and reliability testing using data from community participants (N=229) (Study 1), the 17-item scale was validated in an online study with community participants (N=150) (Study 2). The DARS was also validated in unipolar or bipolar depressed patients (n=52) and controls (n=50) (Study 3). Principal components analysis of the 17-item DARS revealed a 4-component structure mapping onto the domains of anhedonia: hobbies, food/drink, social activities, and sensory experience. Reliability of the DARS subscales was high across studies (Cronbach's α=0.75-0.92). The DARS also demonstrated good convergent and divergent validity. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed the DARS showed additional utility over the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) in predicting reward function and distinguishing MDD subgroups. These studies provide support for the reliability and validity of the DARS.
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“In patients with MDD/bipolar depressive episodes, the DARS showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.96), convergent validity with another anhedonia scale (r = − 0.79), moderate correlation with a depression measure (r = − 0.37), and was able to distinguish MDD from healthy controls [49].”
From Patient-reported outcome measures for life engagement in mental health: a systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [49]
In the citing paper
“The DARS [49] measures desire/interest, motivation, effort, and pleasure “right now”.”
From Patient-reported outcome measures for life engagement in mental health: a systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [49]
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“…only used the MADRS anhedonia factor score to assess anhedonia symptoms, we used the second-generation scales, DARS to speci fi cally probe the different anhedonia subdomains, including anticipatory versus consummatory anhedonia, which allowed for more accurate results in the current study [34].”
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“…Beck et al. (1996)) - a clinically validated and reliable (Richter et al., 1998) index of depression; the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS; Rizvi et al. (2015)) - a reliable index of anhedonia, or impairments to one’s pleasure response, that has been validated in a variety of populations…”
Fatt, C. C., Foster, J. A., Mayes, T. L., Vasu, S., Sethuram, S., Trombello, J. M., Hughes, J. L., Greer, T. L., Cooper, C. M., Carmody, T. J., et al. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.120149
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“These included the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) (17, 18).”
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“Alongside recent findings by Ohki et al. (2024), our results further suggest the potential clinical utility of the individual-specific GED component, Note: DARS scores were reverse-coded so that higher scores correspond to higher anhedonia.”
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“Excellent to acceptable internal consistency for the DARS total score and subscales was demonstrated across Subsamples A and B (DARS Total: α = .93–.93, DARS Social: α = .86–.86, DARS Hobbies: α = .90–.93, DARS Sensory: α = .93–.93, DARS Food/Drinks: α = .74–.79).”
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“More recently, the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale was developed to assess four components of anhedonia (interest, motivation, effort, and pleasure) across multiple reward domains (Rizvi et al., 2015).”
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“Lastly, items 21–23 show promise as candidates for calculating a global score as they account for the most total variance and demonstrated the highest cross loadings.”
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“The Di-mensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS; Rizvi et al. 2015), the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), or the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) would have been more appropriate for isolating anhedonia; however, these instruments are not available in DAIC-WOZ.”
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“Additionally, the sample was also in the high stress range per cutoffs on the PSS-10 (Cohen and Williamson 1988 ) and demonstrated less anhedonia as compared to depressed adult samples (Rizvi et al. 2015 ).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Rizvi, S. J., Quilty, L. C., Sproule, B. A., Cyriac, A., Michael Bagby, R., & Kennedy, S. H.
- Affiliations
- University Health Network (CA)
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
- St. Michael's Hospital (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Rizvi, Sakina J.
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-09
- Volume
- 229
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 109-119
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1943465630
- Cited by
- 274
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 49 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 9.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toronto
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- anhedonia, major depressive disorder, desire, motivation, effort, consummatory pleasure, reward function, scale development, scale validation, bipolar depression, Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale, antidepressant non-response
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Motivation, Residence Characteristics, Reward, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult, Pleasure, Self Report, Anhedonia
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