A parent form of the Children's Depression Inventory: reliability and validity in nonclinical populations

A parent form of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was investigated in a nonclinical population. In Study 1, the CDI was administered to 50 children and their mothers. One month later, the CDI was readministered to 45 children and their mothers. Children's and mother's CDI ratings were correlated significantly at both Time 1 (r = .37) and Time 2 (r = .59). Test-retest reliability of the Parent-CDI over the 1-month interval was significant (r = .75). In study 2, 96 children were rated by mothers on the CDI. Eighty-one of these children rated themselves on the CDI, and 72 were rated by teachers on the Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS). The Parent-CDI was found to be correlated significantly with both the CDI (r = .66) and the CDRS (r = .64). Internal consistency of the Parent-CDI was demonstrated by both a split-half and an item-total analysis. Merits and limitations of this parent form of the CDI for use within a nonclinical population are discussed.