A comparison of child and parent ratings of depression for normal and clinically referred children.

Child and parent ratings of 14 items of the Children's Depression Rating Scale--Revised are compared for a non-clinical and clinical sample. Four hypotheses are tested: (1) children and parents differ in rating depressive symptoms; (2) children rate depressions less severely than parents; (3) parents report greater severity for behavioral and children for ideational symptoms; and (4) the relationship between child and parent ratings does not differ between samples. The first hypothesis was supported in the non-clinical sample and the second in the clinical sample. Support for the third hypothesis was equivocal. Finally, the fourth hypothesis was rejected. Implications of these results for the diagnosis of depression in childhood are discussed.