Measuring Depression
Lenore Radloff at the Center for Epidemiological Studies of the National Institutes of
Mental Health has developed a widely used inventory of depressive symptoms. Each of
the questions describes one of the symptoms of depression, and each question
provides a severity score of 0 to 3 for that symptom. The person circles the answer that
best describes how he or she feels right now. The symptoms divide into mood, thought,
motivation, and physical sets. The statements below show responses to eight of the
twenty questions of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression).
This test is designed, not as a way of diagnosing depression, but as a way of knowing
how many symptoms are present and how severe they are once depression is clinically
diagnosed. A high score alone is not diagnostic of clinical depression or mental illness.
Generally speaking, research has shown that the average score (for the total number of
eight questions) in a North America college population is about 3 or 4, and students who
score below this can be considered non-depressed. Mildly depressed students typically
have scores from 5 to 9, and scores of 10 or higher suggest moderate to severe
depression. If an individual scores 10 or more for a period of one to two weeks, it would
probably be in his/her best interest to seek help. If he/she has serious or persistent
thoughts of suicide, regardless of his/her score, it is imperative that he/she seek aid.
Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Inventory
I felt sad. Mood A (Sadness)
0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)
1 Some or a little bit of the time (1-2 days)
2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)
3 Most or all of the time (5-7 days)
I did not enjoy life. Mood B (Enjoyment of life)
0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)
1 Some or a little bit of the time (1-2 days)
2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)
3 Most or all of the time (5-7 days)
I felt hopeless about the future. Thought C (Pessimism)
0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)
1 Some or a little bit of the time (1-2 days)
2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)
3 Most or all of the time (5-7 days)
I thought my life had been a failure. Thought D (Failure)
0 Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day)
1 Some or a little bit of the time (1-2 days)
2 Occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days)
3 Most or all of the time (5-7 days)
