A comparison of two children’s depression scales with respect to certain psychometric characteristics

Authors

  • Luka Marinović Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar
  • Anita Vulić-Prtorić Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15291/radovifpsp.2543

Abstract

The article compares two scales of children's depression with respect to certain psychometric characteristics. The investigation was conducted on a sample of 187 pupils from the fifth to the eight grades in the "Kruno Krstić" elementary school in Zadar. The following scales were compared: the CDI scale worked out by M. Kovacs and the, for children modified, version of the D-92 scale for grownups by M. Krzimanić and V. Kotesarić. The modification of the D-92 scale for children was carried out in accordance with the results of past research which shows that the primary symptomatology of depression does not significantly differ as far as age is concerned. Thusly the said modification was restricted only to discovering that level of legibility which accords with the examined sample. The analysis of obtained results established that the D-92 scale has a greater reliability of the inner consistency (a=0,809) type than the CDI scale (a=0,743). Factor analysis established that the scales also differ in respect to factor structure (the D-92 scale has two factors which have a high correlation while the CDI scale has 4 factors who have a lower correlation). Difference in sensitivity could not be established. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that the 9-92 scale measures a relatively homogeneous aspect of depression while the CDI scale measures more independent, that is more heterogeneous constructs which some authors identify with the general patterns of pscychopatalogical functioning.

References

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Published

2018-04-17

Issue

Section

Professional paper