title: Gender bias in the measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).
abstract: Confirmatory factor-analytic models are used to examine gender biases of individual items of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale. In samples containing 708 cancer patients and 504 caregivers of the chronically ill elderly, two CES-D items are identified as producing biased responses in comparisons of male and female respondents. Three additional CES-D items are excluded on the basis of other psychometric problems, yielding a subset of 15 CES-D items that capture almost all the information of the original 20-item CES-D scale but are free of any gender bias. Gender differences in mean levels of depressive symptomatology are significantly reduced, but not eliminated, when the 15-item scale is used.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing 48824-1317.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stommel
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Given
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Given
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Kalaian
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McCorkle
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015982:Bias; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012803:Sick Role; D012944:Social Support; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data