Assessment of Childhood Depression: Sampling Multiple Data Sources with One Instrument

The low correspondence among reporting sources in the measurement of childhood depression is well documented. However, no effort has been made to quantify the effects of using different measures with different sources. In this research the administration of the Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression (PNID) was modified to obtain three scores: (1) each child's rating of depression as given by his/her peers; (2) each child's self-rating of depression and (3) the number of times children assigned ratings of depression to others. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was administered for comparative purposes. Results suggest that differences in test items and formats can explain some, but not all, of the low correlations among reporting sources. Gender differences in the three modified PNID scores also were investigated.

The role of learning to read in the development of problem behaviour: A cross-lagged longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

This study investigates the posited relationship between learning to read, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviours, during the transition from preschool to primary school.

METHODS

A total of 196 (104 boys, 92 girls) children participating in the Jyväskylä Entrance into Primary School (JEPS) study were followed up six times during their transition from preschool to primary school. At each measurement, the children's reading performance was tested. Moreover, their internalizing and externalizing problem behaviour was examined by means of structured interviews.

RESULTS

The results showed that problems in reading acquisition predicted an increase in internalizing problem behaviour during the preschool year and first grade, whereas during the second grade they were associated with an increase in subsequent externalizing problem behaviour. Moreover, from preschool to the beginning of the primary school internalizing problem behaviour predicted subsequent externalizing problem behaviour. Later on during the first and the second primary school years, it was externalizing problem behaviour that predicted an increase in internalizing problem behaviour.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggested that difficulties in learning to read, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviours are developmentally linked in a cumulative manner.

Early adolescents' perceptions of their mother's anxious parenting as a predictor of anxiety symptoms 12 months later

Parental overprotection and modeling of fearful behaviors have been proposed to play a central role in the development of anxiety. Yet there have been few longitudinal examinations of these relationships and virtually none focusing on the adolescent period. The current study measured adolescent perceptions of maternal anxious parenting (a combination of overprotection and expression of anxiety), mothers' levels of anxiousness, and adolescents' anxiety symptoms in 421 girls in grade 7 and their mothers. Measures were repeated 12 months later. When the adolescent's self report of anxiety was used as the outcome, the adolescent's perception of maternal anxious parenting significantly predicted adolescent anxiety 12 months later. When the mother's report of adolescent anxiety was used as the outcome adolescent anxiety significantly predicted adolescent perceptions of maternal anxious parenting 12 months later. Maternal anxiousness predicted the adolescent's perception of anxious parenting, but meditational relationships were not significant in either model. The data are partly consistent with reciprocal influence models of parent/child relationships but point to the importance of informant perspectives in determining relationships between these complex variables.

Ten-year review of rating scales. II: Scales for internalizing disorders

OBJECTIVE

This article, the second in the Journal's series of 10-year updates on rating scales, summarizes scales assessing internalizing disorders.

METHOD

The authors sampled articles on mood and anxiety disorders over the past 25 years, selected scales with multiple citations over many years, and reviewed their properties. Those with adequate psychometric properties, plus continued wide literature citations or a current special niche, are presented here.

RESULTS

Rating scales for depression were developed and/or examined in the 1980s. Despite generally strong properties, they lack clear construct validity. Most have parent-report forms that broaden their suitability with youths. Anxiety scales were developed bimodally. Those developed in the 1960s to 1970s were downward modifications of adult scales. They have been criticized for unclear constructs and unsuitability for youths. Newer scales developed in the 1990s have addressed these problems and have parent-report forms. However, their utility is still being determined.

CONCLUSIONS

Rating scales can reliably, validly, and efficiently measure youths' internalizing psychopathology. They have great utility in research, treatment planning, and accountability in practice. However, the user must define the goals of measurement, consider the construct the scale measures, and use the scale within its defined capabilities. The use of more than one scale for a task is recommended.

A preliminary comparison of teacher ratings and child self-report of depression, anxiety, and aggression in inpatient and elementary school samples

Using equivalent scales, the differential utility of teachers' ratings of elementary school (n = 142) and inpatient (n = 83) 8- to 12-year-old children was examined by comparing teachers' correspondence with the inpatient and elementary school children's self-reports of depression, anxiety, and aggression. Teacher-child correspondence was significant for all three traits in the elementary school sample, yet only significant for aggression in the inpatient sample. However, the level or severity of depression and anxiety symptoms that the teachers reported for the inpatient sample was similar to that reported by the children themselves. In contrast, elementary school children reported significantly more internalizing symptoms than their teachers. Inpatient children reported more depression, but not significantly more anxiety and aggression than elementary school children. For all traits, teachers reported significantly more symptoms for inpatient children, after controlling for child self-report and socioeconomic status. The utility of teachers' ratings across samples, method variance and rater biases, and issues pertaining to self-report are discussed.

Self-report, peer-report, and teacher-report measures of childhood depression: an analysis by item

We explored the low correlation among different types of childhood depression measures at the item level. The items from the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression (PNID), and the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-T) were combined, and both first- and second-order factor analyses were conducted. Results indicate that self-report, peer-report, and teacher-report assessments of depression measure generally uncorrelated constructs. Second-order analysis suggests that depression as a global construct is being measured to some degree by items from all three instruments. Canonical analysis was employed to identify items that best predicted CDI, PNID, and CBL-T summary scores simultaneously. Also, the relationship between specific items with similar content was investigated. Results from these analyses generally supported a conclusion that the three types of measures yield scores that are primarily independent and that the use of summary scores is not masking stronger relationships within measures. These findings have implications for clinical practice and construct elaboration.

Psychometric properties of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for adolescents

Items of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) were rephrased and simplified to make them appropriate for younger subjects. This adolescent form of the DEQ (DEQ-A) was administered to high school students; a factor analysis revealed three factors that were highly congruent in female and male students and with the three factors of the original DEQ. Internal consistency as well as short- and long-term reliability for each of the 3 DEQ-A factors were at acceptable levels. Each factor correlated highly with its counterpart factor in the original DEQ, especially the Dependency and Self-Criticism factors. Correlations of the DEQ-A factors with other measures of depression essentially replicate relationships found between these measures of depression and the original DEQ for adults. The reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the DEQ-A indicate that it could be useful in studying depressive experiences in younger adolescents.

Acceptability of interventions for childhood depression

Using a case description methodology, this study examined the effects of behavior problem severity, intervention type, and subject race on mothers' acceptability ratings of five interventions used to treat childhood depression. Results indicated that (a) all psychological (behavioral or cognitive-behavioral) interventions were rated more acceptable than pharmacological treatment; (b) among the psychological interventions, the social skills intervention was the least preferred; (c) acceptability of treatments varied as a function of subject race; and (d) severity of depressive symptoms failed to influence acceptability ratings significantly. Psychometric support was found for a revised measure of acceptability (Abbreviated Acceptability Rating Profile; AARP) developed in the context of the present study. Implications of the findings for consultation are discussed.

Prevalence of childhood and adolescent depression in the community. Ontario Child Health Study

Data from a cross-sectional community survey of 2852 children were used to provide estimates of the prevalence of a 'DSM-III-like' major depressive syndrome in children aged 6 to 16. The severity of symptoms required to define a 'case' was varied to generate three levels of diagnostic certainty (DC). The overall estimates of prevalence made with high DC were 0.6% for pre-adolescents and 1.8% for adolescents. Corresponding rates determined with medium DC were 2.7% and 7.8%, whereas the figures for low DC were 17.5% and 43.9%. Utilisation of mental health and social services, comorbidity (combined disorders), poor school performance, problems in getting along with others and need for professional help all increased as diagnostic certainty increased. There was wide disagreement in data supplied by the different groups of respondents, i.e. parents, teachers and adolescents.