Assessing Depression in Latency-Age Children: A Guide for School Social Workers.

Schools are a primary setting for the provision of services to children with social, emotional, and behavioral problems. School social workers serve a vital role in identifying, assessing, serving, and referring students suffering from myriad mental health problems, including depression. Starting with a discussion of gathering valid assessment data from and about latency-age children, ages six to 12, this article reviews available self-report instruments for assessing depression in children, with a focus on those instruments most appropriate for use by school social workers. A table detailing eight such instruments is presented, including information about reliability, validity, supporting research, and where they can be accessed. The authors identify three such instruments that are particularly suited to the needs of school social workers, which are described in more detail. Assessing Depression in Latency-Age Children: A Guide for School Social Workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]