Assessment of Depression in Children with Cancer

Abstract

An item analysis of the Children's Depression Index (CDI) was conducted for 454 children and adolescents in order to examine differential reporting of depression by medically ill pediatric patients. The samples compared were normal schoolchildren, inpatients in a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital, and children with cancer. Results indicated that the ill children reported less depression than the psychiatric patients or normal controls. It is hypothesized that the children with cancer may be using denial as a coping mechanism. In addition, children with cancer endorsed a different pattern of items than did the normal children or psychiatric patients. In particular, somatic items and items concerning self esteem did not discriminate between depressed and nondepressed children in the cancer groups. The results indicate that although the CDI is a valid measure of depression in chronically ill children and adolescents, the test must be evaluated differently for this group.