Evidence-based assessment/Instruments/Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a brief self-report questionnaire that is designed to measure depressive symptoms in the general population. The CES-D consists of 20 self-report questions that asks about various symptoms of depression as they have occurred in the past week,[1] and the child version, the CES-DC, is similarly structured and takes about 5 minutes to complete. The majority of the items focus on the affective component of depression. The CES-D was initially designed for use in general population surveys, but now serves as a screening instrument in primary care clinics and in research.[1] 

Click Here for Landing Page
Click Here for Landing Page
HGAPS New for Fall 2022: HGAPS and Psychology Conferences
Click Here for Landing Page
Click Here for Landing Page

HGAPS is finding new ways to make psychological science conferences more accessible!

Here are examples from APA 2022 and the JCCAP Future Directions Forum. Coming soon... ABCT!
~ More at HGAPS.org ~



Scoring and interpretation

edit

Item breakdown and scoring

edit

Response choices to each item are assigned point values, which are summed together to determine a total measure score. Response choices for each item and their corresponding point values are as follows:

  • 0 points: "Not at all"
  • 1 point: "A little"
  • 2 points: "Some"
  • 3 points: "A lot"

Items 4, 8, 12 and 16 are phrased to reflect positive affect and behavior, and therefore are scored in opposite order as follows:

  • 0 points: "A lot"
  • 1 point: "Some"
  • 2 points: "A little"
  • 3 points: "Not at all "

Cutoffs and interpretation

edit

Scores on the CES-DC range from 0 to 60, in which higher scores suggest a greater presence of depressive symptoms. A score of 15 or higher is interpreted to indicate a risk for depression. However, screening for depression is a complex process and scoring a 15 or higher on the CES-DC should be followed by further evaluation.

edit

References

edit