Measurement invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition across race with South African university students

Abstract

Measurement invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition across race (Blacks and Whites) was examined in a sample of university students, from two universities from diverse geographical areas of South Africa (N = 870). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (i.e., means and covariance structures) was used to test the factorial invariance of the hierarchical four-factor structure, composed of three first-order factors (i.e., Negative Attitude, Performance Difficulty, and Somatic Complaints) and one second-order general factor (Depression) found with South African students. Evidence of measurement invariance was established at the level of configural, metric, and scalar invariance. However, there were some evidence of differential additive response style across race-with two non-invariant intercepts (Item 5 and 14) being identified. Results also revealed significant latent mean differences favoring Black students on the Performance Difficulty and Somatic Complaints factors but not on the Negative Attitude factor. Findings suggest that the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition provides an assessment of the severity of depressive symptoms that is equivalent across race in university students. Downloaded from Makhubela 3 to examine the MI (i.e., configural, metric, and scalar invariance) and latent mean differences of the BDI-II across race in a South African university sample. Method ParticipantsA purposive sample of 870 students (M age = 21.70 years, standard deviation [SD] = 13.51, 70% female) was selected from both the University of Limpopo (46%) and the University of Pretoria (54%). The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) undergraduate university students, (2) command of English, and (3) predominantly White university and predominantly Black university (4) race. Besides accessibility, sampling from the institutions ensured that we had a heterogeneous sample (i.e., race and socio-economic status [SES]) which also approximated the ones used in previous studies on the BDI-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996;Byrne, Stewart, & Lee, 2004). The overwhelmingly female (72%) sample, while a concern, is not surprising given the sampling strategy used and the undergraduate enrollment rates of the two South African universities. For instance, the Department of Higher Education and Training's (2011) Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa reports that female students comprise 54% of all students enrolled in contact programs at the University of Limpopo and 60% of all students enrolled in contact programs at the University of Pretoria. This part of the sample characteristics is given a detailed treatment in the Methodology section. The data consisted of undergraduate students from faculties of Humanities, Natural Sciences, Statistics, Law, and Management Sciences. In total, 67% of the participants identified themselves as 'Black', while 33% said they were 'White'. The mean score (11.45; SD = 7.74) of the sample on the total BDI-II is outside the symptomatic range of the BDI-II suggested...

The effects of the gender-culture interaction on self-reports of depressive symptoms: cross-cultural study among Egyptians and Canadians

“…This suggests that the employed Arabic translation of the BDI-II was a valid measure of depression amongst this Egyptian sample. Previous studies have also found measurement invariance of the BDI-II in other cultures, such as Chinese (Byrne et al, 2007; Whisman et al, 2012), Turkish (Canel-Cinarbas, Cui & Lauridsen, 2011), and South African (Makhubela, 2016) among clinical and non-clinical samples. Given that this is one of the first studies to examine scale equivalence of the Arabic version of the BDI-II, future studies are needed to replicate the current findings using a larger sample, especially among depressed Egyptians.…”

Peer Review #1 of "The effects of the gender-culture interaction on self-reports of depressive symptoms: cross-cultural study among Egyptians and Canadians (v0.1)"

“…This suggests that the employed Arabic translation of the BDI-II was a valid measure of depression amongst this Egyptian sample. Previous studies have also found measurement invariance of the BDI-II in other cultures, such as Chinese (Byrne et al, 2007;Whisman et al, 2012), Turkish (Canel-Cinarbas, Cui, & Lauridsen, 2011, and South African (Makhubela, 2016) among clinical and non-clinical samples. Given that this is one of the first studies to examine scale equivalence of the Arabic version of the BDI-II, future studies are needed to replicate the current findings using a larger sample, especially among depressed Egyptians.…”

“…Therefore, negative self-referent thoughts have often been believed to be absent among depressed individuals of non-Western, and particularly Arabic origins (reviewed in Beshai et al, 2012). Inconsistent with such beliefs, Beshai and colleagues (2012;2016) found that Egyptian individuals showing signs of depression reported similar levels of negative and positive thoughts about the self when compared with their Canadian counterparts.…”

Exploring issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing across two continents: A preliminary cross-sectional collaborative study between the University of California, Davis, and University of Pretoria

“…Although no comparable studies using the GAD-7 in veterinary students are available, the moderate levels of anxiety reported in our study is consistent with previous studies [ 3 ]. It should be noted that our study did not evaluate other potential risk factors for anxiety and depression including cultural [ 6 , 7 ], social-economic [ 10 ], and racial factors [ 6 , 8 , 9 ], which have been reported in non-veterinary students and adult South Africans. Thus, further studies examining these risk factors for anxiety and depression are warranted in the South African veterinary student population.…”

“…In contrast, little peer reviewed information is available describing factors associated with mental health and wellness among South African veterinary medical students. However, factors associated with anxiety and depression in non-veterinary students and the general South African adult population include cultural differences [ 6 , 7 ] and race [ 6 , 8 , 9 ]. Furthermore, social, and economic factors such as higher number of household members, lower education attainment, gender, lower social status, multiracial race, and less income stability also have been associated with depression and anxiety in South African adults [ 10 ].…”