Assessment of Childhood Depression: Correspondence of Child and Parent Ratings

Abstract

The present investigation evaluated the correspondence of child and parental reports of the children's depression. One-hundred-four children (ages 5–13) hospitalized on a psychiatric intensive care service, 101 mothers, and 47 fathers independently completed several measures to assess severity and duration of the children's depression. To validate the depression instruments, measures of hopelessness and self-esteem (completed by the children) and somatic complaints and internalizing (completed by the parents) were also included. The results indicated that different measures of depression completed by the same rater (child, mother, or father) were highly intercorrelated. However, there was little or no relationship between mother-child and father-child reports of the children's depression for the same or different measures of depression. Children's ratings of depression were positively correlated with hopelessness and parent ratings of somatic complaints and negatively correlated with self-esteem. Children independently diagnosed as depressed (DSM-III) were higher in severity of depression than nondepressed children on child and parent completed measures. The implications of the present results for further evaluation of child self-report and factors that may contribute to correspondence with parental report are highlighted.