Validation of the Children's Depression Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory in a prepubertal sample

The validity of the Children's Depression Scale (CDS), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and their respective parent report versions was assessed in a sample of outpatient and normal control prepubertal children. Scores from the child and parent versions of both scales significantly discriminated between children independently diagnosed as depressed and those with nondepressive disorders. Both measures also distinguished depressed and dysphoric children. Contrary to the findings of earlier studies, a significant rate of agreement was found between the reports provided by the children and their parents. The results suggest that the influence of the child's age and clinical status on reporter correspondence patterns should be considered more exhaustively in future research.