To examine the psychometric properties and test-theoretical quality of the German version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC), a 20 items comprising screening instrument which measures the frequency of parent- and self-reported depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.

Using a population-based, representative sample of N=2.863 7 to 17 year old German children and adolescents, factorial validity by means of linear structural modelling, cross-sectional coefficients of reliability, inter-rater agreement and normative scores are determined.

In a population-based German sample, the 4-factor version of the CES-DC following Radloff (1977) is considered to have good factorial validity and stability across age and informant version. The main problems of the questionnaire are the high difficulties of the items, strong floor effects of the scales and low cross-sectional reliability, which is just acceptable for screening purposes. The low inter-rater agreement indicate that parental assessment can replace self-assessment only to a limited degree.

The strengths and weaknesses of the CES-DC are discussed taking into consideration previous data and comparable tests. Particular advantages are the existence of the parent report form and the adult version, as well as its multifactorial structure. Parental assessment should be supplemented by self-report data whenever possible.