Children's Depression Inventory (CDI and CDI 2)

Abstract The absence of tools to assess depression in juveniles prompted the development of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) several decades ago. The initial CDI included 27 items; a shorter version and versions to be completed by parents and teachers about a child also were developed. The CDI suite of tools was recently updated and is now called the CDI 2. The CDI 2 was administered to a new, nationally representative, normative U.S. sample, aged 7–17 years (and their parents), and a separate clinically referred sample. Just like their predecessors, the CDI 2 questionnaires have excellent psychometric properties. They can be administered and scored in paper‐and‐pencil, computer‐based, and online versions. Standardized t ‐scores serve to compare a child's profile to similarly aged, same‐sexed peers in the standardization sample. The CDI 2 tools are being used in school, clinical, and research settings, for the reliable, fast, inexpensive, multiperspective assessment of pediatric depressive symptoms.