A longitudinal examination of the measurement properties and predictive utility of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale among North American Indigenous adolescents.

Abstract

We examined the longitudinal measurement properties and predictive utility of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) from early to late adolescence among a sample of North American Indigenous youths. Participants were 632 North American Indigenous adolescents (n = 632; 50.3% girls; M age at baseline = 11.11 years) participating in an 8-year, 8-wave longitudinal study. Via in-person interviews, participants completed the CES-D at Waves 1, 3, 5, and 7, and the major depressive disorder (MDD) module of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children at Waves 1, 4, 6, and 8. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that responses to the CES-D were similarly explained by 2-, 3-, and 4-factor models, as well as a 1-factor model with correlations between the error variances for the positively worded items. Longitudinal measurement equivalence analyses indicated full structural (i.e., factor structure), metric (i.e., factor loadings), and scalar (i.e., observed item intercepts) equivalence for each factor structure. Substantive analyses showed that the CES-D was significantly associated with MDD both concurrently and prospectively, although these effects were smaller than might be expected. Finally, the CES-D negative affect and somatic complaints subscales were the strongest and most consistent predictors of MDD. Among our sample of North American Indigenous youths, the measurement properties of the CES-D were stable from early to late adolescence. Moreover, somatic difficulties and depressed affect were the strongest predictors of MDD.

Mental and substance use disorders from early adolescence to young adulthood among indigenous young people: final diagnostic results from an 8-year panel study

“…This may account for our low rates of mood and anxiety disorders. This is a non-trivial concern that suggests cross-cultural differences in internalization disorders may be affected by culturally insensitive or inappropriate measures, an area that that we believe needs increased scrutiny [24]. Regardless of whether we are underestimating internalizing disorders, the prevalence and early onset of externalizing disorders and SUDs have important policy and prevention implications.…”

Household overcrowding and psychological distress among Nunavik Inuit adolescents: a longitudinal study

“…At T2, a 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Rating Scale (CESD) [40] was used to measure self-rated depressive symptoms during the week before the interview on a Likert scale going from 0 (almost never) to 3 (all of the time). This measure has been validated with a North American aboriginal population [41]. Self-rated suicidal thoughts during the previous year, documented at T2, have been measured using a yes/no question extracted from the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire ‘In the past 12 months, have you thought seriously about committing suicide?’ [42].…”

A Cautionary Tale

“…Preliminary confirmatory item factor analyses (with the responses treated as ordinal), however, suggested that a single-factor model provided a subpar fit to our data, χ 2 (170) = 1051.74, CFI = .920, TLI = .911, RMSEA = .096 (Hu & Bentler, 1999). We subsequently estimated a four-factor model (see also Armenta, Hartshorn, Whitbeck, Crawford & Hoyt, 2014) including positive affect, negative affect, somatic complaints, and interpersonal difficulties. This model provided a good fit to the data, χ 2 (164) = 471.55, CFI = .972, TLI = .968, RMSEA = .058.…”