Four-Year Predictive Value of the Children's Depression Inventory

Predictive value for the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was demonstrated through a 4-year follow-up study of 105 children who entered a private residential school for children who had lost one or both natural parents through death, divorce, or separation. At baseline, depressed and nondepressed groups were defined with the CDI. They were then reevaluated at the end of 1, 2, and 4 years. On the CDI, the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Internalizing scale of the Child Behavior Checklist, the original depressed group who remained at school all 4 years showed scores that were significantly higher than those of the nondepressed group after 1 and 2 years, and were also greater after the 4th year. They further showed significantly poorer academic performance, received significantly more counseling, and more often separated from the school under negative circumstances. The most pathological scores overall were demonstrated by the children in the original depressed group who separated from the school during the 4 years under negative circumstances.