Extending the Validation of the Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents into Young Adulthood: Psychometric Properties and Longitudinal Prediction of Depressive Symptoms
Abstract
Anhedonia is a core symptom of depression linked to poorer outcomes in young people. The Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents (ASA) is a 14-item multidimensional measure validated in 11–18-year-olds. We examined its psychometric properties in 1,199 individuals aged 16–25 years, with and without clinical diagnoses. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original three-factor structure over one- and two-factor alternatives. Internal consistency was excellent for the total scale (α = .92), acceptable to good for the subscales (α = .71–.88) and comparable across age and clinical groups; five-month test–retest reliability was moderate (ICC = .69). The ASA correlated with the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS; rₛ = .66) and depressive symptoms (rₛ = .80), explained variance in depressive symptoms beyond the SHAPS (ΔR² = .32), and predicted depressive symptoms five months later beyond baseline symptoms. The ASA is a reliable, valid measure of anhedonia across adolescence and young adulthood.
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BibTeX
@misc{demirkassem2026extending,
title = {{Extending the Validation of the Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents into Young Adulthood: Psychometric Properties and Longitudinal Prediction of Depressive Symptoms}},
author = {Sena Demir-Kassem and Katie Prizeman and Angad Sahni and Xueqing Ma and Manasa Veluvali and Tarun Vermani and Samantha Cacace and Ciara McCabe},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/yhk56_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/yhk56_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Extending the Validation of the Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents into Young Adulthood: Psychometric Properties and Longitudinal Prediction of Depressive Symptoms
AU - Sena Demir-Kassem
AU - Katie Prizeman
AU - Angad Sahni
AU - Xueqing Ma
AU - Manasa Veluvali
AU - Tarun Vermani
AU - Samantha Cacace
AU - Ciara McCabe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/yhk56_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/yhk56_v1/
AB - Anhedonia is a core symptom of depression linked to poorer outcomes in young people. The Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents (ASA) is a 14-item multidimensional measure validated in 11–18-year-olds. We examined its psychometric properties in 1,199 individuals aged 16–25 years, with and without clinical diagnoses. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original three-factor structure over one- and two-factor alternatives. Internal consistency was excellent for the total scale (α = .92), acceptable to good for the subscales (α = .71–.88) and comparable across age and clinical groups; five-month test–retest reliability was moderate (ICC = .69). The ASA correlated with the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS; rₛ = .66) and depressive symptoms (rₛ = .80), explained variance in depressive symptoms beyond the SHAPS (ΔR² = .32), and predicted depressive symptoms five months later beyond baseline symptoms. The ASA is a reliable, valid measure of anhedonia across adolescence and young adulthood.
ER -