Gender and the children's depression inventory's (CDI) 'crying' question

Objectives: Following disruption from students, particularly boys, during the administration of item 10, the 'feel like crying' question, of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), this study sought to explore the issue of non-response to this question. It was decided that particular attention should be given to gender differences in responses and non-responses, based on the experiences of researchers administering this measure. Method: Chi-square analysis of non-responses was conducted on CDI items collected from a total sample of 2,297 second year and pre-leaving certificate students from 23 randomly selected schools in the Mid-West region of Ireland. Results: Analysis identified item 10 as being significantly less likely to be completed than any other item. Further analysis revealed that boys were significantly less likely to respond to this question than girls. Conclusion: A modification of the wording to item 10 is suggested to ameliorate this difficulty.