Children's Depression Inventory, Second Edition (CDI 2)

The Children's Depression Inventory 2 (CDI 2) measures how severe a young person's depressive symptoms currently are. The self-report form gives the child 28 items, each a set of three statements, and asks them to pick the one that best fits the past two weeks. It needs only an early-elementary reading level.

Scores group into two scales. Emotional Problems covers negative mood, physical symptoms, and negative self-esteem. Functional Problems covers ineffectiveness and interpersonal problems — the part of depression that shows up as schoolwork slipping or pulling away from friends. Parent and teacher forms cover the same ground rephrased around what an adult can observe, at home and in the classroom, so a team can compare what a child reports against what adults see.

Licensing Notes: Purchase is qualification-restricted and forms are consumables. Reproduction requires publisher permission.

Learn More: Four forms exist and they are not interchangeable. The Self-Report (28 items) is for initial evaluation. The Self-Report Short Form (12 items, about 5 minutes) is a screener that produces a comparable Total Score. The Parentand Teacher forms were built around observable manifestations of depression rather than internal states, which is why they can't substitute for the child's own report.