THE DIMENSIONS OF DEPRESSION IN EARLY ADOLESCENCE

A factor analysis of the scores on the Child Depression Inventory [CDI (Kovacs, 1983)] of 887 11-15-yr-old secondary school students suggest s that depression, or at least the construct measured by the CDI, is m ulti-dimensional. Moreover, comparisons between the sexes indicates th at males and females may differ on dimensions of depression. The facto r analysis yielded the following six factors: depressed mood; acting-o ut; negative self-concept; lack of positive affect; somatic symptoms; and guilt. The last two factors had weak reliability. This may suggest that somatic symptoms and guilt may not be as prevalent in adolescent as in adult depression. The pattern of sex differences across the dif ferent dimensions indicate that males, to a greater degree than female s, express symptoms which might be described as 'behavioural' or 'acti ng-out' in nature whereas females display features of depression assoc iated with 'negative self-concept'.