Abstract
BackgroundThe Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CESD) was widely used for screening of depressive symptoms. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the factor structure and measurement invariance of the CESD across genders and groups in a sample of Chinese undergraduates and clinical patients.MethodsParticipants included 3093 undergraduates from the Hunan province and 336 patients from psychological clinics. The structure of the CESD scale was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multiple sets of CFAs were used to test measurement invariance across genders among undergraduates and clinical patients. Internal consistency reliability was also evaluated.ResultsThe five-factor model achieved satisfactory fit (in the undergraduate sample: WLSMVχ2 = 1662.385, df = 160, CFI = 0.973, TLI = 0.968, RMSEA = 0.055; in the clinical patients: WLSMVχ2 = 502.089, df = 160, CFI = 0.962, TLI = 0.955, RMSEA = 0.072). The measurement invariance of the five-factor model across genders was supported fully assuming different degrees of invariance. The CESD also showed acceptable internal consistency.ConclusionDue to its sound structure and measurement invariance, the five-factor model of the CESD is best suited for testing in Chinese mainland college students and clinical patients.
Highlights
The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CESD) was widely used for screening of depressive symptoms
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) scale based on the hypothesized model As illustrated in Table 2, Model B、Model D and Model E fitted the data well (CFIs > 0.90, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) > 0.90, root mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) < 0.08) in the clinical sample
The current study aimed to explore the best factor structure and measurement invariance of the Chinese version of the CESD among undergraduates and clinical patients
Summary
The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CESD) was widely used for screening of depressive symptoms. Depression is a common mental illness, and can lead to functional impairment, disability, and even suicide [1, 2]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression has become the fourth most common mental illness in the world, and it has been named the “disease. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D), developed in 1977 by Radloff [8], is one of the most widely used self-report scale to assess depressive symptoms. The scale items cover the major components of depressive symptoms and was designed to measure the current level of depression [9]. The Chinese version of the CESD has been reported to be useful for assessing depression among large adolescents and adults [9]
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