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[Cognitive constructs related to depression in children].
F Páez1, R Núñez, R Robles-García
1Instituto Jalisciense de Salud Mental. Secretaría de Salud. Jalisco, México. paezagrazfco@hotmail.com
Actas Espanolas De Psiquiatria
|March 15, 2002
Summary
This study validated Spanish versions of child depression scales and found weak but significant links between cognitive factors like automatic thoughts and depressive symptoms in children. These findings mirror adult depression research.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychometrics
Context:
- Hopelessness, anhedonia, and automatic thoughts are linked to depression in adults.
- Research on these cognitive constructs in children, particularly together, is limited.
Purpose:
- Translate and validate Spanish versions of child depression scales: hopelessness, anhedonia, automatic thoughts, and a child depression inventory.
- Examine the relationship between these cognitive constructs and depressive symptoms in a sample of normal children.
Summary:
- Validated Spanish scales for hopelessness, anhedonia, automatic thoughts, and child depression in 256 children (3rd-6th grade).
- Internal consistencies ranged from 0.63 to 0.91; factor structures were similar to originals.
- Automatic thoughts showed the strongest correlation (r=0.39) with depressive symptoms; 6th graders scored lower on all measures.
Impact:
- Establishes reliable Spanish-language tools for assessing childhood depression and related cognitive factors.
- Demonstrates that cognitive constructs weakly but significantly relate to depressive symptoms in children, similar to adults.
- Provides a foundation for further research and interventions targeting cognitive aspects of childhood depression.