Administration of CDI

Administration of CDI

Each item in the CDI has three statements, and the child is asked to select the one answer that best describes his/her feelings over the past two weeks.  Fill out the child’s name/client ID, Age, birthdate, grade gender and todays date on the left side of the Profile Form.

Read out the instructions or ask the child to read the instructions himself/herself on the first page of CDI Profile form: “You are required to pick one sentence that describes you best for the past two weeks.  After you pick one sentence from the first group, go to the next group. There is no right or wrong answer.  Just pick the sentence that best describes the way you have been recently”.  Put a mark like this X next to you answer.  Here is an example:

• I read books all the time
• I read books once in a while
• I never read books

Remember, pick out the sentences that describes you the best in the past 2 weeks.

They choose whether the statement applies to them “all the time”, “sometimes or once in a while” or “never”. Responses to items are simply scored in the direction of disturbance, i.e. depressive items score 2 means “all the time”, items score 1 means “once in a while or—sometimes” and non-depressive items score 0. The scores are summed to give the total score.

There are five subscales within the assessment that measure different components of depression:

• Anhedonia (inability or decreased ability to experience joy)
• Negative self-esteem (the belief that you are not good at anything)
• Ineffectiveness (lack of motivation or inability to complete tasks)
• Interpersonal problems (difficulty making and keeping close relationships)
• Negative mood (irritability or anger)

Scoring of CDI:

The scores are transferred to the next page Scoring Page. Read the instructions for scoring on the same page and proceed. Add the number next to all checked boxes This will give you a Total CDI Score, and enter it in the grid that says Total CDI Score.  Then, add the numbers for factor scales, note that a letter is printed next to each item on the scoring sheet.  For example, “Item 1; A” appear above item 1, “item 2; E” above item 2, and so on.

• Add the individual item scores for all the A’s and enter the total in the box labeled Scale A Total (Negative Mood).
• Repeat the same procedure of adding up only the items in Scale B Total (Interpersonal Problems),
• Scale C Total (Ineffectiveness),
• Scale D Total (Anhedonia), and
• Scale E Total (Negative Self Esteem)

Converting Raw Scores to T-Scores:

The raw scores are then converted to T-scores according to the child’s age and gender column. For the total CDI and each factor score, check the corresponding raw score in the Profile Form (the last page of the form).  For the CDI Total Score there are 4 columns under each scale name.  Each of these columns corresponds to a different group depending upon the child’ age and gender.  For instance, if the child is an eight-year-old boy, use the column headed “Boys 7-12,” which is used for boys 7 to 12 years old.  If the child is 13 through 17 years old, use the column labelled “Boys 12-17.”  Make sure to use the correct column for each scale.  Follow the same procedure for all factor scores as well.  You can then connect the circled scores with solid lines.  Red ink works especially well on the forms for making the profile stand out.  T scores are listed in the far left and right columns of the Profile Form.

In general, a T-score between 66-70 is in a “Much Above Average” or “Clinically Significant” range, that means the child is having high symptoms of depression.  A T score of above 70 indicates a Significant Problem that needs to be addressed through treatment plan.

Table 3.1 Interpretive Guidelines for T-Scores (page 16 in Manual)