title: Assessing depression in rural communities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Examined the severity of depressive symptoms and the rates of probable depression assessed by different instruments that were included in two separate surveys of residents in a predominately rural region of the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surveys of the Brazos Valley region in south central Texas were conducted and responses to the short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (in the 2006 survey) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (in the 2010 survey) were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regardless of instrument used, results indicate that women and African Americans are at greater risk for depression in this underserved region, but no unique effects were found for rural residency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implications for research, assessment, program planning, and policy are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4225, USA. brossart@tamu.edu
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Brossart
authors.forename: Monica L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wendel
authors.forename: Timothy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Helene E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Linda G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Burdine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult