title: Evaluating Differential Item Functioning of the CES-D Scale According to Caregiver Status and Cultural Context in Korean Women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Proper evaluation of the generalizability of an instrument is critical for its use across different social contexts such as caregiver status.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the differential item functioning of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale, patterns of response to each item of the CES-D Scale attributable to caregiver status was assessed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a cross-study comparison method, a sample of 58 matched pairs of Korean American caregivers and noncaregivers was used for matched moderated regression analysis on the CES-D Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors identified three items that vary according to caregiver status in the present study: Item 2 (My appetite was poor), Item 4 (I felt that I was as good as other people), and Item 14 (I felt lonely).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Beyond assessing the level of depression through total CES-D scores, it is important to examine variations in the items of the CES-D Scale across different social contexts. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2009; 15(4), 240-248. DOI: 10.1177/1078390309343713.
authors.affiliation: Heeseung Choi, PhD, MPH, RN, is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Systems Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, Illinois, hchoi20@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Heeseung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fogg
authors.forename: Eunice E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choi Wu