Evidence-based assessment/Instruments/Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a brief self-report questionnaire that is designed to measure depressive symptoms in the general population. The CES-D consists of 20 self-report questions that asks about various symptoms of depression as they have occurred in the past week, and the child version, the CES-DC, is similarly structured and takes about 5 minutes to complete. The majority of the items focus on the affective component of depression. The CES-D was initially designed for use in general population surveys, but now serves as a screening instrument in primary care clinics and in research.

Item breakdown and scoring
Response choices to each item are assigned point values, which are summed together to determine a total measure score. Response choices for each item and their corresponding point values are as follows: Items 4, 8, 12 and 16 are phrased to reflect positive affect and behavior, and therefore are scored in opposite order as follows:
 * 0 points: "Not at all"
 * 1 point: "A little"
 * 2 points: "Some"
 * 3 points: "A lot"
 * 0 points: "A lot"
 * 1 point: "Some"
 * 2 points: "A little"
 * 3 points: "Not at all "

Cutoffs and interpretation
Scores on the CES-DC range from 0 to 60, in which higher scores suggest a greater presence of depressive symptoms. A score of 15 or higher is interpreted to indicate a risk for depression. However, screening for depression is a complex process and scoring a 15 or higher on the CES-DC should be followed by further evaluation.