Practice Guidelines and Clinical Assessment Tools

More information is available about Depression and Suicide is posted under Emotional Well-Being on this web site. While information posted here is primarily written for an adult audience, many of the resources may be appropriate for young people.

Practice Guidelines for Pediatric Depression and Suicide

Summary of the Practice Parameters for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Depressive Disorders
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Summary of the Practice Parameters for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Suicidal Behavior
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Assessment Tools for Depression and Suicide

Self-Report Measures

There are a number of self-report measures that assess depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. A table provides information about a number of these measures, including number of items, developmental level, and how to access each measure. More

Clinician-Administered Assessments

Structured clinical interviews require more time on the part of the assessor and informants, but can be useful in formulating a diagnosis. There are a number of clinician-administered measures that assess depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. This table provides information about a number of these measures, including number of items, developmental level, and how to access each measure. More

The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children is a useful tool for assessing a variety of psychiatric disorders in young people.