With the rising prevalence of mental health issues, depression not only causes significant psychological distress and severely impairs social functioning and quality of life but also heightens the risk of suicide. The Depression Change Expectation Scale (DCES) is an assessment tool designed to evaluate the attitudes of individuals exhibiting depressive tendencies or symptoms regarding their anticipated future changes in depression. Understanding adolescents' expectations about changes in depression can enable timely and targeted interventions before their mental health deteriorates. However, a Chinese version of the DCES is yet to be developed. This study aimed to translate the DCES, cross-cultural adaptation, and validate the Chinese version of the DCES among college students. Following the Brislin translation model, the initial draft of the DCES was translated and back-translated. The Chinese version was refined through expert localization and a preliminary survey. Using a convenience sampling method, 1,138 students from various universities in Anhui province were surveyed from September to December 2023. Among these, 481 students exhibiting depressive symptoms and tendencies, as identified by the Beck Depression Inventory, were selected for the reliability and validity analysis of the Chinese version of the DCES. The Chinese version of the DCES demonstrated a robust two-factor model fit (Chi-square/degrees of freedom = 2.604
comparative fit index = 0.973
Tucker-Lewis index = 0.970
goodness of fit index = 0.912
normed fit index = 0.958
root mean square error of approximation = 0.058). The scale-level content validity index was 0.898, and item-level content validity indices ranged from 0.830 to 1.000. The internal consistency, as measured by Cronbach's alpha, was 0.910 for the entire scale and ranged from 0.888 to 0.980 for individual dimensions. The test-retest reliability was 0.985 for the total scale, with individual dimensions' test-retest reliability ranging from 0.982 to 0.985. This study, supported by previous evidence, indicates that the Chinese version of the DCES possesses excellent validity and reliability. It is a valuable tool for measuring expectations regarding changes in depression and has the potential to predict future trends in depressive symptoms.