Use and abuse of the Children's Depression Inventory.
This study investigated current uses of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), a frequently cited self-report measure for children's depressive symptomatology. Recently published studies of "childhood depression" were reviewed: Half of them used the CDI. Of these studies, 68% did not use a clinical or structured interview to determine diagnostic status. When the CDI was used alone to assess depressive symptoms, 44% of studies referred to high CDI scorers as "depressed" without providing a clear cautionary statement (i.e., either stating that the CDI cannot be used to diagnose depression or clarifying limitations regarding generalization of findings from a nonclinical to a clinical sample). These results are similar to those previously published regarding the Beck Depression Inventory, and they suggest a need for caution in the administration and interpretation of results from self-report inventories for children's depressive symptoms.
Fristad
M A
MA
Department of Psychiatry, Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210-1250, USA.
Emery
B L
BL
Beck
S J
SJ
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002665:Child Psychiatry / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*