Screening for depressive disorder in children and adolescents: validating the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children. Am J Epidemiol 1990 Mar;131(3):538-51
Date
03/01/1990Pubmed ID
2301363DOI
10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115529Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0025141649 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 372 CitationsAbstract
The utility of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC), a modified version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, was explored in a sample of children, adolescents, and young adults at high or low risk for depression according to their parents' diagnosis. Proband parents were participants in the Yale Family Study of Major Depression who had children between the ages of 6 and 23 years. Diagnostic and self-report information on offspring was collected over two waves, spaced 2 years apart, from 1982 to 1986. Support was obtained for the reliability and validity of the CES-DC as a measure of depressive symptoms, especially for girls and for children and adolescents aged 12-18 years. Children with major depressive disorder or dysthymia, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III), had elevated scores in comparison with all other respondents. The CES-DC lacked diagnostic specificity; children with a range of current DSM-III diagnoses had elevated scores on the measure. A cutoff point of 15 and above for screening children and adolescents for current major depressive disorder or dysthymia may be optimal. Depressed respondents scoring below this cutoff point (false negatives) showed better social adjustment than true positives; nondepressed respondents scoring above this cutoff point (false positives) showed worse adjustment than true negatives. Factor analysis was used to construct an abbreviated, four-item version of the scale. The abbreviated scale was shown to be useful as a screen.
Author List
Fendrich M, Weissman MM, Warner VAuthor
Michael Fendrich PhD Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Child
Connecticut
Depressive Disorder
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Humans
Male
Mass Screening
Parents
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Surveys and Questionnaires
