Depressive symptoms in maltreated children from mother, teacher, and child perspectives

When mother, teacher, and child ratings of depressive symptoms in maltreated and non-maltreated children were compared, agreements between raters were generally low, with the highest correlations between mother and teacher ratings for maltreated boys and girls. Maltreated children were more likely than nonmaltreated children to be rated in the clinical range by mothers and teachers, but not by children themselves. Findings underscore the importance of multiple perspectives in evaluating children's depressive symptoms. Maternal depressive symptomatology is an important factor to consider when using maternal ratings of children's adjustment.