Analysis of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in Children and Adolescents from the Perspective of the Item Response Theory

Objectives: Because of its prevalence and the consequences of its impact, depression is a significant health issue. It is strikingly widespread among patients referred to primary health care services. Inventories occupy an important place in the diagnosis of depression, a condition frequently seen among children and adolescents. In this context, the present study has aimed to examine whether the Turkish version of the CES-Depression Scale (The Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) can be used for children and adolescents. Methods: The study was conducted with 583 children and adolescents between the ages 8-15. Both classical and modern test theories were employed in the analysis of the items in the study. Item discrimination, item difficulty and the level of fit with the two-parameter model were used. Items 4,7 and 11 attracted attention with their low discrimination characteristics and low difficulty levels. Results: It was found that the internal consistency coefficient for the whole scale was 0.74 but ranged between 0.60 - 0.78 in different age groups. It was also observed that as age increased, the scale displayed higher internal consistency and split-half coefficients. It was determined that the factor structure of the scale in this group was close to, but weaker than, the factor structure in the adult scale. The criterion validity of the scale in regard to the other scales used together showed correlation coefficients between 0.52 and 0.74. Conclusion: It was seen that the results of the analysis of the CES-Depression Scale in this age group were similar to those derived from adult samples. Although certain problems appeared in some of the items due to the characteristics of this age group, the scale as a whole did not display a major problem that would prevent its use in children and adolescents. In other words, our findings have shown that the scale can be used in this age group.