CES-DC Depression Questionnaire for Teens

Some weeks feel heavier than others, and it is hard to tell a bad patch from something that sticks. This CES-DC depression questionnaire turns that feeling into a clear number based on your past week. Many young people look for a depression test for teens when sadness, tiredness or loneliness start to pile up, and this one shows which of them is behind it.

What the questionnaire measures

The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children was developed by Myrna Weissman and her colleagues in 1980 as a version of the adult CES-D written in words kids understand. It is still one of the most used tools of its kind. People often call it a child depression scale, yet teenagers take it just as often. Every statement describes something that may have happened in the last seven days. Your answers add up to one headline result, your CES-DC score, which opens the report on a scale from 0 to 100. Below it you see four parts. Sadness covers a low mood, tears and fear. Missing good moments shows whether fun and happiness still reached you. Energy and body covers sleep, appetite, focus and getting started. Feeling left out covers loneliness and the sense that others keep away.

How to take it and read your result

Each of the 20 statements asks how much something was true for you over the past week: not at all, a little, some or a lot. Most people finish in about 4 minutes. Four statements describe good things, such as having a good time, and are scored in reverse, so a week without them still counts. The classic CES-DC scoring gives every answer 0 to 3 points and adds them into a total of 0 to 60, which you see converted to 0 to 100. After the last answer you get:

• your overall score from 0 to 100 with a plain level;
• separate results for sadness, good moments, energy and feeling left out;
• the part that weighed on your week most and the one that held you up;
• a comparison with other people who answered the same statements.

Many teenagers come back a few weeks later to see whether their number has moved.