Performance of the CES-D and its short forms in screening suicidality and hopelessness in the community.
A measurement scale should be short and quick to complete if it is to be practically useful. Drawing on data from a community-based survey of 2,178 people in Hong Kong, we compared five short forms (5- to 10-item) and the original version (20-item) of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) in predicting suicidal attempts and suicidal thoughts. Short forms with as few as nine items performed in ways very similar to the full version; a version with only five items had a detectable difference from the full version. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values in differentiating people with and without suicidal thought or attempt change almost linearly with the cut-offs.
Cheung
Yin Bun
YB
Tropical Epidemiology Group, IDEU, London School of Hycidal Tropical Medicine.
Liu
Ka Yuet
KY
Yip
Paul S F
PS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires