The present study was undertaken to examine some of the psychometric properties of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), a self-report inventory devised by Kovacs and Beck (1977) to measure depression in children and adolescents. Normative and reliability data were obtained from three independent samples taken from eight public schools in central Pennsylvania. Age- and gender-related differences in reported characteristics of depression were also investigated. The subjects were 594 males and 658 females whose ages ranged from 8 to 16 years and whose combined mean age was 11.67 years (SD = 1.91). The CDI was group-administered to all 1,252 subjects; 155 fifth-grade subjects (77 males and 78 females) were retested after 3 weeks, and 107 seventh- and eight-grade subjects (45 males and 62 females) were retested after 1 year. The distribution statistics for the combined samples yielded an overall CDI mean of 9.09, a standard deviation of 7.04, and a cutoff score of 19 for the upper 10% of the distribution. Reliability assessed through coefficient alpha, item-total score product-moment correlations, and test-retest coefficients proved acceptable. Gender differences were obtained for several item-total score correlations and for test-retest reliability of CDI scores.

The factor structure of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; M. Kovacs, 1992) was evaluated in a large community sample of 1,777 children and 924 adolescents. There were 5 first-order factors (Externalizing, Dysphoria, Self-Deprecation, School Problems, and Social Problems) for the child group; the adolescent group yielded the same 5 factors plus a 6th factor (Biological Dysregulation).Confirmatory factor analyses supported the stability and replicability of the obtained factor structures.Both samples yielded 2 higher order factors-Internalizing and Externalizing. The factors were compared with previous CDI factors identified for clinical (B. Weiss et al., 1991) and community (M. Kovacs, 1992) samples. Other notable findings included more boys reporting high scores (17 and above) on the CDI among the child sample, whereas, among adolescents more girls reported high scores (17 and above) on the total CDI as well as higher scores on the biological dysregulation factor.It is now widely accepted that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) exists among children and adolescents; indeed, in recent years the prevalence of MDD among young people appears to have been increasing (Kessler et al., 1994;Lewinsohn, Hops, Roberts, Seeley, & Andrews, 1993). MDD occurs equally among boys and girls until puberty, at which time the incidence of MDD increases dramatically for girls. Following the onset of puberty, more than twice as many girls as boys develop MDDa gender ratio that continues throughout adulthood (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).The increased interest in MDD and related disorders among children and adolescents has catalyzed the development of new and improved assessment instruments. Several structured interviews have been developed to provide the information necessary

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Imagery rescripting is presented as a new treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. A theoretical discussion illustrates the model’s consistency with schema theory and information processing models of PTSD, and suggests that the rescripting process may effect change in pathological schemas associated with interpretation of the traumatic event(s). It is proposed that this combination of imaginal exposure, mastery imagery, and cognitive restructuring goes beyond extinction models to alter recurring images of the trauma and create more adaptive schemas. Hypothesized mechanisms for PTSD symptom reduction are presented, implications for cognitive restructuring are noted, and the model’s potential for facilitating personal empowerment and self-nurturance are discussed. Preliminary outcome research data are summarized that support the efficacy of imagery rescripting in significantly reducing PTSD symptomatology with this population.