The Portuguese Version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)

Abstract

Summary: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a depression scale designed to measure depressive symptomatology in the general population. The authors developed a Portuguese version of this scale. This article presents the results of the three studies carried out with this version. These results support the reliability and the validity of the scale. The CES-D proved to be sensitive to variations in the intensity of depressive symptomatology and can be used in epidemiological studies or as a screening instrument in a clinical setting. Sex does have some influence on the values of sensitivity and specificity but the educational level has a greater influence on scores: Subjects with a lower education level tend to obtain higher scores with the same level of depressive symptomatology as evaluated by the clinical interview.