The stability of depressed mood in young adolescents: a school-based survey.
To test the stability of self-reported depressed mood in a school-based sample of young adolescents, 268 schoolchildren completed two self-rating scales measuring depressed mood, the Depression Self Rating Scale and the Child Depression Inventory, at three timepoints over a period of 6 months. Depressed mood in the sample, as measured across the whole range of the scales, was reasonably stable. A subgroup of children was identified for whom the mean scores of both scales at all three timepoints was close to, or above, the cut-off points, representing a stably depressed mood similar to that found in clinical populations. The present findings indicate that depressed mood within a section of the general child population may be more stable and less transient than previously thought.
Charman
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Department of Psychology (Philips House), University College London, UK.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data