The accuracy of teacher reports in the identification of middle school students with depressive symptomatology

This investigation examined the ability of teachers to identify depressive characteristics among middle school students. Participants were 356 students and 52 teachers. Teachers' perceptions of students' depressive characteristics were obtained via Likert ratings and nominations of students the teachers judged to be depressed. The depressive status of students was evaluated with a multiple-gating procedure using the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (Reynolds, 1987) as an initial measure and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Edition IV as a final measure. A correlation of .22 (p < .001) was obtained between teachers' ratings of student depression and students' self-reported depressed moods. Further analyses examined teachers' ability to identify high-depression students, as well as the impact of teacher and student variables on teachers' ability to discern students' depressed moods. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.