[Validation of two short versions of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in Colombian...

To establish the validity and reliability of a Brief and Ultra-short Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in adolescents.

Validation study.

Secondary schools in Bucaramanga, Colombia.

A total of 474 students were selected through a three stage process; 68 did not agree to participate, 8 were excluded and 8 did not complete the process.

Adolescent students were evaluated with CES-D and the clinical interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. The CES-D scale was re-applied 3 to 28 days after the first application. The ten items and the three items with the highest correlation with total score were selected to construct a Brief scale and Ultra-short scale, respectively. Construct validity, criterion validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency were analyzed.

For the Brief CES-D Scale the Cronbach's alpha was 0.86 and Lin's coefficient was 0.77. The area under ROC curve was 0.83, with a sensitivity of 77.8%; specificity 74.1%. Two main factors were identified to explain the 55.81% variance. For the Ultra-short Scale the Cronbach's alpha was 0.76 and Lin's coefficient was 0.74. The area under ROC curve was 0.80, with a sensitivity of 75.56%; specificity 70.67%. One main factor was identified to explain the 68.19% of variance.

The Brief and Ultra-Short CES-D Scale are as useful as the original scale for the screening of MDD in adolescents; Ultra-short CES-D Scale does not preserve the original factorial structure.