This study reports normative data of depressive mood in Brazil, using a Portuguese version of the Depression Adjective Check Lists (DACL; Lubin, 1981, in press). Participants (N = 1,063) were college students drawn from randomly selected courses in 10 Brazilian universities. Cross-cultural comparisons showed that this Brazilian sample had significantly higher depressive scores compared to Hispanic (p < .Ol), American (p < .Ol), and Israeli (p < .05) samples. The results also indicated that Brazilian females (p < .OS) and young adults 0, < .05) reported significantly more depressive mood than males and older adults, respectively. All reliability (internal consistency, split-half, and alternate form) and concurrent validity measures were found to be appropriate and compared well to other cross-cultural samples.
The literature shows an abundance of data that chart depressive mood or affect in North American young adults (Teuting, Koslow, & Hirschfeld, 198 1; Vredenburg, O'Brien, & Krames, 1988). However, comparable data for other cultures are rare . The lack of psychometrically sound assessment instruments that can be used across cultures constitutes one such deterrent to more cross-cultural research in this area .
One instrument that measures depressive mood or affect and seems promising for use across cultures is the Depression Adjective Check Lists (DACL; Lubin, 1967, 1981, in press). The DACL has been reviewed favorably in the United States: It has appropriate reliability and validity measures . The availability of alternate lists-for example, forms E, F, and G-also makes the DACL practical in cases of repeated measurement when a relatively brief interval between testings is necessary. The DACL lists have been used widely in a variety of investigations of short-term depressive mood or mood change (Lubin, Swearngin, & Seaton, in press). Furthermore, the DACL has been translated into Spanish, Hebrew, and Chinese, with adequate reliability and validity measures .
The purposes of this study were to generate normative data (frequencies, means, standard deviations, and percentiles) with Brazilian college students, using the Portuguese version of the DACL, and to make comparisons by gender, academic standing, and age groups. In addition, the overall mean of this Brazilian sample was compared to those of American, Hispanic, Israeli, and Chinese samples. Finally, reliability (internal