[Validity and reliability of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale in Colombian adolescent students].
BACKGROUND
Major depressive disorder is the second major cause of adolescent psychological incapacitation in Latin-America. However, scales for detecting these disorders have not been validated for screening adolescents in Colombia.


OBJECTIVE
The validity and reliability of a Spanish translation of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies (CES-D)-Depression scale was assessed in adolescent students.


METHODS
A validation study for a diagnostic scale was performed with a sample of 390 adolescent students from Bucaramanga, Santander Province, in northwestern Colombia. The students were evaluated by two methods: (a) the CPS-depression scale and (b) a semi-structured clinical interview. Three to 28 days after the interview, the scale was re-applied. Criterion validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability was analyzed.


RESULTS
The mean age was 14.8 +/- 1.2 years old. The prevalence of major depressive disorder was 11.5%. Cronbach's alpha was 0.85. The area under the curve produced by the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.82, and the cut point of > or =23 showed a sensitivity of 73.3%; specificity, 73.6%; positive predictive value, 26.6%, and negative predictive value, 95.5%. Lin's coefficient of concordance was 0.75.


CONCLUSIONS
The validity and reliability of the Spanish translation of the CES-D scale were similar to those reported in the international literature although with a higher cut point.


CONCLUSIONS
The validity and reliability of the Spanish translation of the CES-D scale were similar to those reported in the international literature although with a higher cut point.
Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Paul Anthony
PA
Camacho
German Eduardo
GE
Rueda-Jaimes
José Fidel
JF
Latorre
Alvaro Andrés
AA
Navarro-Mancilla
Mauricio
M
Escobar
Jorge Augusto
JA
Franco
D000293:Adolescent; D019540:Area Under Curve; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index