[Validity and reliability of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale in Colombian adolescent students]

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.