Factorial structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression Scale among American Indian college students.

Abstract

is among the most prevalent psychopathologies in American Indian communities. Yet little is known about the performance characteristics of common assessment tools in this population. This article describes the factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) on the basis of data from a sample of 605 American Indian college students. A 3-factor model fit the data well and was judged the most parsimonious. Comparisons of the factor structure across gender demonstrated that the differences were due largely to 1 item: cry. The implications of this work in the context of studies with other populations are discussed.Depression is among the most frequently acknowledged psychopathologies in American Indian communities, second only to suicide and alcoholism (Shore & Manson, 1983). Its occurrence has been linked to a variety of circumstances, including frequent interpersonal conflict (Ross & Davis, 1986), prolonged, unresolved grief (Jilek-All, Jilek, & Flynn, 1978), chronic familial instability (Resnik & Dizmang, 1971), unemployment (Travis, 1984, and rapid culture change (Kraus & Huffier, 1979). Yet little is known about the performance characteristics of even the most common tools for assessing the presence of such a debilitating condition in this special population (Manson, Shore, & Bloom, 1985). Rare exceptions include seminal, but now dated, work with the Cornell Medical Index, Health Opinion Survey, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (see Manson, Walker, & Kivlahan, 1987, for a review). The present report returns to this earlier tradition and describes one in a series of recent attempts to understand the psychometric properties of a widely used measure of depressive symptomatology, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D;Radloff, 1977), when used with American Indians.

Relationship between glycemic control and depression among American Indians in the Strong Heart Study

“…It is composed of 20-items, administered as a self-report instrument (Radloff, 1977). The CES-D has been used in several published studies with American Indian participants (Baron et al, 1990; Manson et al, 1990; Somervell et al, 1993; Beals et al, 1991; Dick et al, 1994). The CES-D is described in previous SHS publications as a “non clinical measure of depressive symptomatology” (Plaud et al, 1997).…”

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

“…The CES-D (Radloff, 1977) is one of the most widely used measures of depressive symptoms and has been included in a number of studies with Indigenous samples (e.g., Beals, Manson, Keane, & Dick, 1991; Chapleski, Lamphere, Kaczynski, Lichtenberg, & Dwyer, 1997; Dick, Beals, Keane, & Manson, 1994; Manson, Ackerson, Dick, Baron, & Fleming, 1990). The CES-D was developed to assess symptoms associated with major depression, specifically, “depressed mood, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, psychomotor retardation, loss of appetite and sleep disturbances” (Radloff, 1977, p. 386).…”

Factorial validity of the center for epidemiologic studies-depression (CES-D) scale in military peacekeepers

“…Radloff [1977], in an initial exploratory factor analysis (EFA), identified and conceptualized four factors as independent subscales: 1) Depressed Affect (e.g., blues, depressed, lonely); 2) Positive Affect (e.g., good, hopeful, happy); 3) Somatic and Retarded Activity (e.g., bothered, sleep, get going); and 4) Interpersonal (e.g., unfriendly, dislike). Although several EFA investigations have been conducted [e.g., Beals et al, 1991;Callahan and Wolinsky, 1994;Clark et al, 1981;Devins et al, 1988;Joseph and Lewis, 1995;McCallion and Kolomer, 2000;Thorson and Powell, 1993], uncertainty remains regarding the CES-D's precise factor solution. Factor structure has varied between a two-factor [Edman et al, 1999;Manson et al, 1990], a three-factor [Beals et al, 1991;Kuo, 1984;Stroup-Benham et al, 1992;Ying, 1988], a five-factor [Thorson and Powell, 1993], and a sevenfactor solution [Callahan and Wolinsky, 1994].…”

“…Although several EFA investigations have been conducted [e.g., Beals et al, 1991;Callahan and Wolinsky, 1994;Clark et al, 1981;Devins et al, 1988;Joseph and Lewis, 1995;McCallion and Kolomer, 2000;Thorson and Powell, 1993], uncertainty remains regarding the CES-D's precise factor solution. Factor structure has varied between a two-factor [Edman et al, 1999;Manson et al, 1990], a three-factor [Beals et al, 1991;Kuo, 1984;Stroup-Benham et al, 1992;Ying, 1988], a five-factor [Thorson and Powell, 1993], and a sevenfactor solution [Callahan and Wolinsky, 1994]. The variability of factor structure reported has been attributed to differences in demographic variables of study populations [e.g., Callahan and Wolinsky, 1994;Edman et al, 1999;Manson et al, 1990].…”