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Validation of Children's Depression Scale in the Basque-Speaking Population
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2013
Abstract
The aim of this study was to validate the Basque version of the CDS (Children's Depression Scale, Lang & Tisher, 1978), one of the most widely used questionnaires for the assessment of childhood depression, which has already been proved to be a valid and reliable tool in different cultures. The questionnaire was administered to a community sample of 886 participants (432 males and 454 females) aged between 8 and 16. A two-factor solution was obtained (Depressive dimension and Positive Dimension), which accounted for 29.86 % of the variance. Reliability with regard to internal consistency level and long-term stability was good (α = .95 and .79; and R = .73 and .59 for Depressive and Positive dimensions, respectively). Analysis of Differential Item Functioning with respect to age and gender showed that 91% and 88% of the items, respectively, did not present DIF. External validity evidence for the questionnaire was also obtained. We consider that the present work offers researchers and professionals interested in this area of study a valid and reliable tool for assessing depressive symptoms in Basque-speaking children and adolescents.
El objetivo de la presente investigación consistió en validar la versión en euskera del CDS (Children's Depression Scale, Lang y Tisher, 1978), uno de los instrumentos más utilizados para evaluar la depresión infantil y que ha mostrado buenas propiedades psicométricas en diversas culturas. El cuestionario ha sido administrado a una muestra comunitaria de 886 participantes (432 varones y 454 mujeres) de edades comprendidas entre los 8 y los 16 años. Se ha obtenido una estructura de dos dimensiones (Depresiva y Positiva) que explican el 29,86 % de la varianza. La fiabilidad, evaluada mediante el análisis de su consistencia interna y estabilidad temporal, ha resultado adecuada (α = .95 y .79; y R = .73 y .59 para las dimensiones Depresiva y Positiva, respectivamente). El análisis del funcionamiento diferencial de los ítems con respecto al sexo y la edad mostró que el 91% y el 88% de los ítems, respectivamente, no presentan DIF. Asimismo, se obtuvieron evidencias de validez externa del instrumento. Consideramos que con el presente trabajo se pone a disposición de investigadores y profesionales interesados en este ámbito de estudio, un instrumento de evaluación fiable y válido para medir los síntomas depresivos en niños y adolescentes vascoparlantes.
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