[Application of the revised version of the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in adolescent students from Mexico City].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the internal consistency, as well as the construct, concurrent and external consistency of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-R) in Mexican adolescents.


METHODS
The data are from two samples of middle-school students from Mexico City. The questionnaire included the CES-D-R and other scales for suicide problems, peer and family violence, and drug use.


RESULTS
The sample included 1,549 students (mean age 14 years, SD=1.2). The CES-D-R showed a six-factor structure (explained variance, 55%) with an excellent internal consistency (a=0.93), a significant discriminative power for opposite scores (z=-3.695, p<0.001), and a positive significant correlation with the Roberts Suicidal Ideation Scale (r=0.685, p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The CES-D-R has excellent psychometric characteristics for Mexican adolescents and therefore is deemed as an adequate tool for the assessment of depressive symptoms in large samples to detect mental health needs and design preventive interventions.
González-Forteza
Catalina
C
Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente, México.
Jiménez-Tapia
José Alberto
JA
Ramos-Lira
Luciana
L
Wagner
Fernando A
FA
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population