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(MDI-C) Multiscore Depression Inventory for Children

by David J. Berndt, PhD, and Charles F. Kaiser, PhD
Norms
Separated by age and sex and based on a national sample of more than 1,400 normal children and adolescents
Translation
Available in French
Published Translations
Format
Self-report
ADMIN TIME
15-20 minutes
Ages
8 to 17 years
Benefit
Gives you the child's view of his or her emotional world, tapping mood states that tend to be stable and persistent
Publish Date
1996
Qualifications
Level C required.

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(MDI-C) Multiscore Depression Inventory for Children

$28.00

SKU
mdi-c-multiscore-depression-inventory-for-children

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About This Product

BY DAVID J. BERNDT, PHD AND CHARLES F. KAISER, PHD

This unique self-report inventory with items written by children assesses depression in 8- to 17-year-olds. A downward extension of the highly regarded Multiscore Depression Inventory, the MDI-C lets youngsters indicate how they feel, giving you a childs-eye view of their emotional world. Its ideal for both routine screening and clinical assessment.
The MDI-C is the first measure of childhood depression with items created by children, written in their own words. During test development, children between 8 and 13 years of age reviewed MDI-C items, and items were revised, reworded, or added based on their suggestions. Consequently, MDI-C items have excellent face validity. Written at a second-grade reading level, theyre brief, easy to understand, and meaningful to children.
Completed in just 15 to 20 minutes, the MDI-C includes 79 true-false items on eight scales:

  • Anxiety
  • Self-Esteem
  • Social Introversion
  • Instrumental Helplessness
  • Sad Mood
  • Pessimism
  • Low Energy
  • Defiance

The inventory provides raw scores, percentiles, and normalized T-scores for each scale, plus a Total Score. An Infrequency Index tells you whether the child has responded in a careless or erratic way. And one item on the inventory functions as a Suicide Risk Indicator. Norms, separated by age and sex, are based on a national sample of more than 1,400 normal children and adolescents from 8 to 17 years of age.
The MDI-C can be used to assess a wide range of children, including both mildly and severely depressed youngsters. Because it measures various depression-related features separately, the inventory can help in planning treatment and monitoring its progress over time. The MDI-C taps mood states that tend to be stable and persistentit is comparatively insensitive to transient fluctuations in affect. Therefore, it can reliably assess real change in overall emotional well-being and in specific feelings, such as anxiety.