Assessment of Depression in Children and Adolescents by Self-Report Questionnaires

Abstract

Virtually all research and clinical work with depressed children and adolescents utilizes assessment procedures. Assessment is a basic process for determining the presence or absence of depression and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. Assessment as a process encompasses both formal and informal procedures for making decisions about persons. As measures for the assessment of depression are discussed in this chapter, it should be recognized that assessment as a process does not occur in isolation. The assessment of depression in youngsters, as with other clinical domains and populations, is a complex interaction of the individual being evaluated, the assessment methods, the clinician or evaluators, and the setting events, as well as prior experiences and the reason for the assessment.