biostudies-literatureBean CALNICHD NIH HHSNIMH NIH HHSNational Institutes of HealthVanderbilt University783-792https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11447136biostudies-literatureUnknown46(3)The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale - Revised (CESD-R) is a popular self-report screening measure for depression. A 20-item questionnaire with scores ranging from 0 to 4 for each item, the CESD-R can produce total scores ranging from 0 to 80. However, the typical scoring protocol for the CESD-R restricts the range of possible scores to between 0 and 60 to retain the same range and clinical cutoff scores as the original CES-D. Despite the widespread adoption of this scoring approach, the psychometric impact has never been systematically examined. In an undergraduate and community adult sample (<i>n</i> = 869), item response theory analyses indicated that scoring the CESD-R with all 5 response options (CESD-R_5opt) provided nearly twice as much information about aJournal of psychopathology and behavioral assessmentImproved Scoring of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale - Revised: An Item Response Theory Analysis.PMC11447136P50 HD103537T32MH018921-34endowment from Patricia and Rodes HartT32 MH018921Mueller SBAbitante GCole DABean CALCiesla JACho SJfalseImproved Scoring of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale - Revised: An Item Response Theory Analysis.The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale - Revised (CESD-R) is a popular self-report screening measure for depression. A 20-item questionnaire with scores ranging from 0 to 4 for each item, the CESD-R can produce total scores ranging from 0 to 80. However, the typical scoring protocol for the CESD-R restricts the range of possible scores to between 0 and 60 to retain the same range and clinical cutoff scores as the original CES-D. Despite the widespread adoption of this scoring approach, the psychometric impact has never been systematically examined. In an undergraduate and community adult sample (<i>n</i> = 869), item response theory analyses indicated that scoring the CESD-R with all 5 response options (CESD-R_5opt) provided nearly twice as much information about a2024-01-01T00:00:00Z20242026-06-13T05:33:13.599Z2025-04-06T13:22:51.599ZS-EPMC114471363937219410.1007/s10862-024-10155-y