Self-report vs. biological markers in assessment of childhood depression
Journal of Affective DisordersPublished 1 November 1988
Mary A. Fristad, Elizabeth B. Weller, Ronald A. Weller, Marijo Teare, Sheldon Preskorn
Citations20
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.12
SNIP1.65
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
Results suggest that scores greater than or equal to 15 on the CDI obtained from either parent or child provide a good screening instrument and if the DST is administered to all children with elevated CDI scores, diagnostic confidence is 97.5%.
Abstract
Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic confidence of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in assessing childhood depression were determined. Parent and child forms of the CDI and plasma cortisol levels at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. were used. Three groups of prepubertal children were sampled: (1) 63 depressed inpatients, (2) 14 non-depressed inpatient psychiatric controls, and (3) 21 normal community sample controls. Results suggest that scores greater than or equal to 15 on the CDI obtained from either parent or child provide a good screening instrument (sensitivity = 89%). If the DST is administered to all children with elevated CDI scores, diagnostic confidence is 97.5%. Cautions and recommendations for use of the CDI and DST are made.
Keywords
PsychologySocial SciencesMedicine
Archives of General PsychiatryAn Inventory for Measuring Depression
38,163 Citations1961Aaron T. Beck
The difficulties inherent in obtaining consistent and adequate diagnoses for the purposes of research and therapy have been pointed out and a wide variety of psychiatric rating scales have been developed.
Archives of General PsychiatryA Specific Laboratory Test for the Diagnosis of Melancholia
2,249 Citations1981Bernard J. Carroll
Abnormal DST results were found with similar frequency among outpatients and inpatients with melancholia; but they were not related to age, sex, recent use of psychotropic drugs, or severity of depressive symptoms.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical PsychologyThe Children's Depression Inventory: A systematic evaluation of psychometric properties.
973 Citations1984Conway F. Saylor, A. J. Finch +2 more
Journal of Abnormal Child PsychologyDevelopment of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms
949 Citations1982Barbara Herjanic, Wendy Reich
To test the reliability of children's reporting as compared with that of their mothers, a highly structured psychiatric diagnostic interview was used with 307 subjects, ages 6 through 16.
Archives of General PsychiatryThe Dexamethasone Suppression Test for Diagnosis and Prognosis in Psychiatry
531 Citations1985George W. Arana
A modified dexamethasone suppression test (DST) has had unprecedented evaluation among biologic tests proposed for clinical use in psychiatry, but it has not proved to reflect pathophysiologic changes at the level of the central nervous system or pituitary, and tissue availability of dexamETHasone itself may contribute to test outcome.
Archives of General PsychiatryThe Predictive Power of Diagnostic Tests and the Effect of Prevalence of Illness
429 Citations1983Ross J. Baldessarini
A useful scheme for organizing clinical test data is developed so as to permit simple calculations of the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive power of medical tests.
American Journal of PsychiatryThe dexamethasone suppression test: an overview of its current status in psychiatry. The APA Task Force on Laboratory Tests in Psychiatry
264 Citations1987
The association of an abnormal test result with major affective disorders encourages continued research on the DST, and in certain specific situations its thoughtful use may aid clinical decision making.
Journal of the American Academy of Child PsychiatryAssessment of Childhood Depression: Correspondence of Child and Parent Ratings
254 Citations1983Alan E. Kazdin, Nancy H. French +2 more
Children's ratings of depression were positively correlated with hopelessness and parent ratings of somatic complaints and negatively correlated with self-esteem, and children independently diagnosed as depressed (DSM-III) were higher in severity of depression than nondepressed children on child and parent completed measures.
Journal of Child Psychology and PsychiatrySELF‐REPORT AND INTERVIEW MEASURES OF CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT DEPRESSION
225 Citations1982A E Kazdin, Theodore A. Peiti
The validity of alternative measures is reviewed by examining the extent to which criteria for construct, content, criterion, convergent and discriminant validation are met and recommendations are provided for areas of research to further validate measures of depression for children and adolescents.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical PsychologyChildren's Depression Inventory: Sex and grade norms for normal children.
193 Citations1985A. J. Finch, Conway F. Saylor +1 more
Journal of the American Academy of Child PsychiatryAssessment Techniques for Childhood Depression: A Critical Appraisal
152 Citations1981Alan E. Kazdin
PubMedNormalization of dexamethasone suppression test: a laboratory index of recovery from endogenous depression.
146 Citations1980Greden Jf, Albala Aa +5 more
This study compared ten unipolar or bipolar endogenous depressives who had an abnormal DST on admission and a normal DST at discharge, with four patients whose abnormal D ST on admission failed to convert at discharge and those whose DST fail to convert showed substantially less improvement.
PubMedDexamethasone suppression test: a review of contemporary confusion.
139 Citations1985Bernard J. Carroll
While its ultimate significance is not yet known, the DST, like other laboratory tests, may help to resolve uncertainty in clinical diagnosis and refine current paradigms for psychiatric nosology and diagnosis.
American Journal of PsychiatryThe dexamethasone suppression test in prepubertal depressed children
119 Citations1982Elva Poznanski, B J Carroll +3 more
The results suggest that endogenous depression in childhood is not a rare condition and that it is clinically and neuroendocrinologically similar to the adult disorder.
Journal of Clinical Child PsychologyCharacteristics of children with extreme scores on the children's depression inventory
105 Citations1984Cyd C. Strauss, Rex Forehand +2 more
PubMedDepression in children: relationship between plasma imipramine levels and response.
82 Citations1982Preskorn Sh, Weller Eb +1 more
Responsibility to the drug was concentration-dependent; of the children who achieved total tricyclic plasma levels of 125-225 ng/ml, 92% responded, compared with 25% of those outside this range, and Antidepressant response was correlated both with total tricycle plasma levels and with plasma desipramine levels.
Dexamethasone Suppression Test
51 Citations1984Bernard J. Carroll
The overnight dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was first proposed as a diagnostic aid for endogenous depression or melancholia in 1976 and was further standardized in 1981 and has attracted wide interest in the past few years.
Psychological ReportsFactor Analysis of the Children's Depression Inventory
43 Citations1983Kay Hodges, Lawrence J. Siegel +2 more
Factor analyses of responses to the Children's Depression Inventory were compared for two groups: 123 children at a psychiatric outpatient clinic and 175 elementary school children who attended Grades 4, 5, and 6.
American Journal of PsychiatryThe dexamethasone suppression test in hospitalized prepubertal depressed children
36 Citations1984Elizabeth B. Weller, Ronald A. Weller +2 more
The dexamethasone suppression test was performed on 20 hospitalized prepubertal children who met DSM-III criteria for major depressive disorder and predicted 93% of the nonsuppressors.
PubMedThe dexamethasone suppression test in prepubertal depressed children.
24 Citations1985Weller Eb, Weller Ra +3 more
The results indicate that prepubertal depressed children may have abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis similar to those in adults with a major depressive illness.
Handbook of Psychiatric Diagnostic Procedures
20 Citations1985Richard C.W. Hall, Thomas P. Beresford
The clinical sections of this volume are designed to assist the physician in in stituting a proper workup for specific patients and defining tests which will assist them in the differential diagnosis of various psychiatric disorders.
American Journal of PsychiatryDexamethasone suppression test and clinical outcome in prepubertal depressed children
13 Citations1986Elizabeth B. Weller, Ronald A. Weller +3 more
Hospitalized prepubertal depressed children with abnormal dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results were treated and given repeat DSTs at 6 weeks and 5 months, and DST results were significantly correlated with clinical status at 5 months but not at 6 months.
Psychiatry ResearchDexamethasone suppression test in prepubertal conduct disorder
13 Citations1981Steven D. Targum, C. Terrence Chastek +1 more