Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)
What It Measures
The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) is the children's version of the adult CES-D, rewritten so a young person can answer it themselves. It measures how often depressive symptoms showed up in the past week and is used for ages 6 through 17.
Twenty items are rated from not at all to a lot, with wording pitched at a child — feeling down and unhappy, feeling too tired to do things, feeling that things they did before didn't work out right. Four positively worded items are reverse-scored, and the total runs 0 to 60. A score of 15 or above suggests clinically significant depressive symptoms. It screens rather than diagnoses, and it works better with adolescents than with younger children.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: Like the adult CES-D it derives from, the CES-DC is described as being in the public domain and freely available for clinical and research use.
Learn More: Two limitations are worth knowing before using a score. Psychometric properties are better in adolescents than in younger children, and the scale lacks diagnostic specificity. A positive screen means look further, not depression confirmed.
