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Children's Depression Inventory (CDI)3

Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) Test

In 5 minutes, understand a child or teen’s depression symptoms and how intense they feel. A trusted 27-item screener that supports early detection and tracks change over time.

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Questions: 275 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

22,806 views

2,644 completions

1,661 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

64/100

Negative Self-Esteem (NSE)

Assesses negative self-attitude, low self-esteem, and the possible presence of self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

Low

Moderate

High

30 – 39: Low | 40 – 55: Moderate | 56 – 100: High

A score of 64 falls in the High range, suggesting pronounced negative self-evaluation and indicating that self-harm or suicidal thoughts may be present.

example score

76/100

Anhedonia (A)

Measures reduced ability to experience pleasure, along with feelings of loneliness and exhaustion.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 33: Low | 34 – 66: Moderate | 67 – 100: High

A score of 76 falls in the High range, indicating more pronounced anhedonia-related experiences such as reduced pleasure, loneliness, and exhaustion.

example score

26/100

Ineffectiveness (I)

Measures how strongly the child feels ineffective or unsuccessful, especially in school-related activities.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 33: Low | 34 – 66: Moderate | 67 – 100: High

A score of 26 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively few feelings of ineffectiveness or lack of success at this time.

example score

53/100

Interpersonal Problems (IP)

Measures the degree of difficulty in interacting with others, including negativity and aggressive tendencies.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 33: Low | 34 – 66: Moderate | 67 – 100: High

A score of 53 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting noticeable interpersonal difficulties and a tendency toward negativity or irritability in relationships.

example score

80/100

Negative Mood (NM)

Measures the intensity of persistent low mood, anxiety-tinged affect, and expectation of negative outcomes.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 33: Low | 34 – 66: Moderate | 67 – 100: High

A score of 80 falls in the High range, indicating a pronounced and persistent negative emotional tone with increased worry and pessimistic expectations.

example score

79/100

Overall Depression Index (ODI)

This scale summarizes the child’s overall level of depressive symptoms across CDI items relative to age norms (T-score).

Low/typical

Elevated

High

30 – 55: Low/typical | 56 – 70: Elevated | 71 – 100: High

A T-score of 79 falls in the High range, indicating a high overall level of depressive symptoms compared with age norms.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Concerned parents or guardians

44%OF USERS

Parents take it to quickly check whether a child’s low mood, irritability, withdrawal, or fatigue may reflect depressive symptoms and whether follow-up help is needed.

School psychologists and counselors

33%OF USERS

School staff use it for screening and tracking changes in students’ emotional well-being over time, especially when learning or behavior suddenly worsens.

Child mental health clinicians

23%OF USERS

Psychologists and psychiatrists use it during assessment and treatment to estimate symptom severity and monitor progress from session to session.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Negative Self-Esteem (NS)

Average

51.4

Normal range

39.8 — 62.9

min.

max.

100

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Anhedonia (A)

Average

Normal range

9.3 — 44.7

min.

max.

100

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Ineffectiveness (I)

Average

40.2

Normal range

26.7 — 53.7

min.

max.

100

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Interpersonal Issues (II)

Average

44.9

Normal range

31.6 — 58.2

min.

max.

100

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Negative Mood (NM)

Average

65.2

Normal range

52.2 — 78.2

min.

max.

100

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Overall Depression Score (ODS)

Average

63.5

Normal range

54.2 — 72.7

min.

max.

100

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Please read each group of statements below carefully and select one option based on how you have been feeling recently (over the past two weeks). Do not spend too much time on any item, as there are no right or wrong answers.

- I am sad once in a while.
- I am sad many times.
- I am sad all the time.
- I never feel that I can do things successfully.
- I rarely feel confident that I can do things successfully.
- I feel that I do things well.
- I do almost everything well.
- I do many things wrong.
- I do everything wrong.

These are 3 of the 27 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) Test - Symptoms and Signs

depression

This measure is used to screen for depressive symptoms and related affective concerns in children and adolescents. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) is commonly administered in outpatient, school, and research settings to support initial problem identification and symptom monitoring.

It is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 27 items and typically takes about 5 minutes to complete. Item content samples multiple domains often associated with depression (e.g., mood, anhedonia, self-evaluation, somatic complaints), allowing clinicians to quantify symptom burden and track change over time. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was developed by Maria Kovacs and is intended to inform, not replace, a comprehensive clinical assessment and diagnostic evaluation.

Author: Maria Kovacs

Literature: Kovacs, M. Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) manual. Multi-Health Systems. 1992.