title: Factorial invariance of the CES-D in low socioeconomic status African Americans compared with a nationally representative sample.
abstract: This study examined the factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in low socioeconomic status African Americans (n=426). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four factors-(1) depressed affect, (2) positive affect, (3) somatic complaints, and (4) interpersonal problems-of the CES-D scale previously found in the general population were supported in this sample. These results were cross-validated in other nationally representative samples of African-American participants (n=988) and Caucasians (n=666), and the four-factor structure of the CES-D scale replicated in all three groups in this study. An alternative model was also tested with the factors depressed affect and somatic complaints combined as a single factor, a finding often reported in minority groups. Results indicated a significantly poorer fit for the three-factor model compared with the four-factor model for all three groups. In addition, higher loading differences were significantly evident between African-American and Caucasian groups, while higher loading similarities were found between the two African-American groups. These findings provide further evidence of measurement equivalency of the CES-D scale in samples with differential characteristics including race and socioeconomic status.
authors.affiliation: Cognition Section, Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. nguyenha@grc.nia.nih.gov
authors.forename: Ha T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitner-Triolo
authors.forename: Michele K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Alan B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Zonderman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data