The Children’s Depression Inventory 2
Ryan Rienzo
INTRODUCTION
The development of depression in children can result from a
variety of environmental, genetic, and socioeconomic factors
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014). Regardless of the precipitating
circumstances, early recognition, assessment, and intervention
are essential for developing emotional health. The Children’s
Depression Inventory 2, a self-report depression instrument for
children, can be utilized to help identify the various signs and
symptoms of depression. Given the importance of early diagnosis
and treatment (Kovacs & Delvin, 1998), the CDI 2 can assist
professionals to pinpoint critical depressive symptoms a child
may experience (Bae, 2012).
STRENGTHS OF THE CHILDREN’S
DEPRESSION
INVENTORY 2
• The CDI is one of the most thoroughly researched of all
instruments designed to measure depression in children
(Hays, 2013).
• It is a widely used clinical instrument in clinical and
research settings (Blumberg & Izard, 1986; Carey,
Faulstich, Gresham, Ruggerio, & Enyart, 1987; Craighead,
Smucker, Craighead, & Ilardi, 1998; Kazdin, French, &
Unis, 1983; Lobovits & Handel, 1985; Saylor, Finch, Spirito,
& Bennett, 1984; Smucker, Craighead, Craighead, &
Green, 1986; Worchel et al., 1990) .
• It is the most widely cited instrument used to assess
childhood depression in the literature (Fristad, Emery, &
Beck, 1997) and has been seen in a variety of
psychometric works (Carel, Cole, & Millsap, 2008).
• The sophisticated features of the CDI 2 such as specific
subscales for Emotional and Functional problems,
additional subscales, and age and sex norms firmly support
the theoretical model of depressive symptoms in youth
(Bae, 2012).
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2011
www.PosterPresentations.com
Wake Forest University Department of Counseling
MULTICULTURAL
STATISTICS RELATED TO CHILDHOOD DEPRESSION
CONSIDERATIONS/LIMITATIONS
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (2015)  It has been difficult to make generalizations across studies
 Depression among children and adolescents is common and to identify and track children suffering from mental
 Risk Factors
but frequently unrecognized health difficulties, given the lack of culturally sensitive,
standardized screening scales and diagnostic procedures
 Affects - Family history of depression (Rivera, Bernal,& Rossello, 2005).
- 1% of preschoolers - Previous depressive episodes
- 2% of prepubertal children - Family conflict
 In terms of relative weaknesses, the CDI 2 have mainly
- 5-8% of adolescents - Uncertainty regarding sexual orientation written-text formats, so measurement alternatives for
 Gender ratio - Poor academic performance special youth with cognitive or physical disabilities are
- Comorbid conditions such as dysthymia, anxiety necessary (Bae, 2012).
- Equivalent in prepubertal children
disorders and substance abuse disorders
- 2:1 female-to-male ratio in adolescents
 Even though CDI 2 measurements reflect the degree or
THE CHILDREN’S DEPRESSION INVENTORY- II intensity of ongoing depressive manifestation, the results
should be integrated with careful diagnostic judgment as
part of a larger information-gathering process (Bae, 2012).
The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) is a self-report measure of depression for children and adolescents ages 8 to 17
(Kovacs,1992). This instrument, which is a downward extension of the Beck Depression Inventory, consists of 27 self-report items
written at a third-grade reading level (Hays,2013). The CDI 2 (a revision to the CDI) is designed to assess cognitive, affective, and  Considering the properties of the CDI 2, repeated
behavioral symptoms of depression in children and adolescents (Dukay, Kaaya, Reyes, & Mellins 2010). For each item, the child or measurements to assess changes in depressive symptoms
adolescent choses the one statement from among three listed that most closely describes his or her thoughts, feelings, or behaviors over time are recommended (Bae, 2012).
for the past 2 weeks ( Hays, 2013). Based on the results a total score is reported based on five factors.
Five Factors/Subscales
1.Negative Mood
2.Interpersonal Problems
3.Ineffectiveness
4.Anhedonia (inability to find enjoyment in everyday pleasures)
5. Negative Self-esteem
REFERENCES
Formats Of the CDI Available: Bae, Y. (2012). Test Review: Children's Depression Inventory 2 (CDI 2).
-The original 27-item version Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 30(3), 304-308
-A 10-item short- form version doi:10.1177/0734282911426407
-Parent version (CDI-P) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (2013).Washington, D.C.: American
-Teacher version (CDI-T) Psychiatric Association.
Psychometric Properties Hays, D. G., & Hood, A. B. (2013). Assessment in counseling: A guide to the use of psychological
assessment procedures. Alexandria,VA: American Counseling Association.
•Internal Consistency Reliability:Cronbach's alpha = .59-.88 (multiple samples) Home | American Academy of Family Physicians. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2016, from http://
www.aafp.org/home.html
•Test-retest Reliability: Myers, K., & Winters, N. C. (2002). Ten-Year Review of Rating Scales. II: Scales for Internalizing Disorders.
0.38-0.87 (nonclinical and clinical samples) Journal of the American Academyof Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(6), 634-659.
doi:10.1097/00004583-200206000-00004
•Concurrent Validity: Seligman, L., & Reichenberg, L. W. (2014). Selecting effective treatments: A comprehensive, systematic
"moderately high” guide to treating mental disorders (4thed.). Hoboken: Wiley.
Stockings, E., Degenhardt, L., Lee, Y. Y., Mihalopoulos, C., Liu, A., Hobbs,M., & Patton, G. (2015).
Myers, K. M.D.; Winters, N.C. M.D. Ten-Year Review of Rating Scales. II: Scales for Internalizing Disorders. Journal of the American Symptom screening scales for detecting major depressive disorder in children and adolescents: A
Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 41(6):634-659, June 2002. systematicreview and meta-analysis of reliability, validity and diagnostic utility.Journal of Affective
Disorders, 174, 447-463.doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.11.061
Other Details- Sørensen, M. J., Frydenberg, M., Thastum, M., & Thomsen, P. H. (2005).The Children’s Depression
Inventory and classification of major depressive disorder. Europ.Child & Adolescent Psych European Child
•Tested Populations: & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(6), 328-334. doi:10.1007/s00787-0050479-2
The suicide ideation item of the CDI has been examined with school samples (Chartier et al., 1994; Kovacs, 1992; Larsson and Traube, D., Dukay, V., Kaaya, S., Reyes, H., & Mellins, C. (2010). Cross cultural adaptation of the Child
Melin, 1992; Overholser et al., 1995), bereaved samples (Cerel et al., 1999), outpatient samples (Kovacs, 1992), inpatient samples Depression Inventory for use in Tanzania with children affected by HIV. Vulnerable Children and Youth
(Overholser et al., 1995), and sexually abused samples (Wozencraft et al., 1991).
Studies, 5(2), 174-187. doi:10.1080/17450121003668343