Usefulness of the state-trait depression inventory (IDERE) for clinical diagnosis. a study containing samples from four Iberian-American nations

State-Trait Depression Inventory (IDERE) is a self-evaluating inventory designed to evaluate depression as a state and as a trait. This work set a goal to study its usefulness to identify cases in which clinical depression -based on the DSM-IV criteria- are estimated. The sample was made up of 1984 individuals from four countries: 503 Spaniards, 330 Cubans, 477 Colombians and 674 Mexicans. The Scale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies on Depression (CES-D) was used in an effort to assess the concurrent validity and the Riquelme Inventory of Depressive Symptoms to pinpoint cases that comply with the DSM-VI criteria for the diagnosis of a depressive episode. The analysis of the ROC curves by age and gender groups, as well as for Cuba, Mexico and Spain, showed good accuracy rate in both scales. However, for the Colombian sample none of the subscales yielded acceptable outcomes. Significant differences were found in terms of gender, country, age and the interaction among these variables. Both subscales produced significant and positive correlations with CES-D. The results speak in favor of the validity of criteria and convergence with IDERE, as well as its value for the identification of people suffering from possible depression in Hispanic American countries.