Difference between Children’s Self-Reports on Depression and Parents’ Assessment of Children’s Behaviors

Abstract

Objectives : Childhood is a critical period involving various developmental tasks that need to be accomplished. Childhood depression has overall negative implications for certain areas of development, including cognition, emotion, social skills, academic achievement, and ability to cope with stress. Yet, because depression can be "masked" by accompanying behavioral problems, early detection and diagnosis of childhood depression is somewhat challenging. In this study, using the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), we evaluated the association between children’s self reports on depression and parents’ assessment of children’s behaviors.

Methods : Subjects were recruited from the S city, a cohort comprising a non-random convenience sample of 226, 10-year-old ethnic Koreans in their fourth year of elementary school and their parents. All participants underwent several tests, including Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and K-CBCL.

Results : A total of 226 children, including 166 boys (73.5%) and 60 girls (26.5%), participated in the study. The average CDI for the participants was 14.57 (SD=7.54). Two items on the K-CBCL, total scale of adjustment scale and social withdrawal problems, showed a close association with the CDI.

Conclusion : Although much remains to be elucidated, after controlling for covariates, the results of this study suggested that behavioral problems observed in children may be closely associated with depression.