depression scale for children ces dc

Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)

Children Depression

Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)

Instructions:

Below is a list of the ways you might have felt or acted. Please check how much you have felt this way during the past week.

Not At AllA LittleSomeA Lot
1I was bothered by things that usually don’t bother me.0123
2I did not feel like eating, I wasn’t very hungry0123
I wasn’t able to feel happy, even when0123
3my family or friends tried to help me feel
better.
4I felt like I was just as good as other kids3210
5I felt like I couldn’t pay attention to what I was doing.0123
6I felt down and unhappy.0123
7I felt like I was too tired to do things.0123
8I felt like something good was going to happen.3210
9I felt like things I did before didn’t work out right.0123
10I felt scared.0123
11I didn’t sleep as well as I usually sleep0123
12I was happy.3210
13I was more quiet than usual.0123
14I felt lonely, like I didn’t have any friends.0123
15I felt like kids I know were not friendly or that they didn’t want to be with0123
16I had a good time3210
Not At AllA LittleSomeA Lot
I felt like crying.0123
I felt sad.0123
I felt people didn’t like me.0123
It was hard to get started doing things.0123

Description

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) is a 20 item self-report questionnaire for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. It asks young people to rate how many depressive symptoms they have experienced in the last week. This measure is useful for tracking depressive symptoms over time.

Validity and Reliability

Psychometric characteristics of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) were evaluated with 148 child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients (Faulstich et al., 1986). The sample were diagnosed with major depression, dysthymic disorder or another serious mental disorder requiring an inpatient admission. Psychometric properties were adequate, with an internal consistency of α  =  .89, and sensitivity was 80% with a cutoff score of 15, however the scale was not able to differentiate between inpatients admitted for depression or another mental illness.

Interpretation

Scores are presented as a total raw score and two percentiles. Higher scores represent higher levels of symptoms. The Clinical Percentile represents the respondents score compared to children independently diagnosed with Major Depression or Dysthymia (Faulstich et al., 1990), where a percentile rank of 50 represents a typical score for a depressed young person. The Healthy Percentile represents the respondents scores compared to a sample of children with no identified mental health diagnosis (Faulstich et al., 1990). A percentile of 50 on the Healthy Percentile scale presents a typical score for a healthy young person. As defined by Weissman et al. (1980), a score of 15 or above is considered to be indicative of clinically significant depressive symptoms.

Developer

Weissman, M. M., Orvaschel, H., & Padian, N. (1980). Children’s Symptom and Social Functioning Self-Report Scales Comparison of Mothers’ and Children’s Reports. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 168(12), 736-740.

Number Of Questions

20

References

Faulstich, M. E., Carey, M. P., Ruggiero, L., Enyart, P., & Gresham, F. (1986). Assessment of depression in childhood and adolescence: An evaluation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). The American journal of psychiatry.

Fendrich, M., Weissman, M. M., & Warner, V. (1990). Screening for depressive disorder in children and adolescents: validating the center for epidemiologic studees depression scale for children. American Journal of Epidemiology, 131(3), 538-551.

Cite this article

mohammad looti (2026). Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/depression-scale-for-children-ces-dc/

mohammad looti. "Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/depression-scale-for-children-ces-dc/.

mohammad looti. "Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/depression-scale-for-children-ces-dc/.

mohammad looti (2026) 'Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/depression-scale-for-children-ces-dc/.

[1] mohammad looti, "Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.

mohammad looti. Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.

Related terms:

  1. Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)
  2. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)
  3. Centre of Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)
  4. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression / Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
  5. Compulsive Eating Scale (CES)
  6. Colonoscopy Embarrassment Scale (CES)
  7. Casework Effectiveness Scale (CES-10)
  8. Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRS-C)
  9. Career Exploration Survey (CES)*
  10. Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS)
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