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Title: Do Blacks and Whites Experience Depression Differently: Assessing the Validity of the CES-D
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Lee, Chioun |
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Do Blacks and Whites Experience Depression Differently: Assessing the Validity of the CES-D Presented: Atlanta GA, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2010 Cohort(s): NLSY79 Publisher: American Sociological Association Keyword(s): CESD (Depression Scale); Depression (see also CESD); Racial Differences; Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (see Self-Esteem) Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is one of the most widely used measures for depressive symptoms in social science research. Although some researchers have highlighted problems with aspects of the scale’s validity, its validity has not been thoroughly assessed. In this study, using white and African American young women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), I investigate the construct and convergent validity of the CES-D through a step-wise process, applying multiple group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). For the first two steps, I test construct validity, examining item bias through whole completed items followed by testing the structural equivalence of the CES-D subscales by race. I also assess the convergent validity of CES-D using structural relationships between the four domains of the CES-D and two domains of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. I find that items related to interpersonal problems in the CES-D inflate levels of depression for African American women. The findings from the test of convergent validity are contradictory: African American women who report higher self-esteem are more likely to report higher depression in the CES-D subscale ‘interpersonal problems’. An implication is that a domain of the CES-D scale, ‘interpersonal problems’, might not properly measure depressive symptoms and might instead address other concepts for African American women. These biased items are partly responsible for racial/ethic disparities in mental health measured by the CES-D. |
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Bibliography Citation
Lee, Chioun. "Do Blacks and Whites Experience Depression Differently: Assessing the Validity of the CES-D." Presented: Atlanta GA, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2010. |