An assessment of the CES-D scale factor structure in black women: The Black Women's Health Study

Psychiatry Res. 2009 Jul 30;168(2):163-70. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.04.022. Epub 2009 Jun 5.

Abstract

This study investigates the dimensional structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale in US Black women with and without history of cancer via single-group and multi-group analyses. The CES-D questionnaire was administered in 1999 to 50,774 black women who are participants in the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS). For our analysis, we utilized a group of 690 women with a history of at least one of the three types of cancer (breast cancer, colon cancer or lung cancer) and an age-matched group of 1,380 healthy women with no history of any cancer or other chronic conditions including myocardial infarctions, stroke, angina, diabetes, lupus, and sarcoidosis. Three a priori hypothesized models were tested via confirmatory factor analysis: single-, three- and four-factor structures. The four-factor model provided the best fit and remained largely invariant across the groups when tested via multi-group comparisons. Two internal consistency measures of the scale (Cronbach's alpha coefficient and split-half coefficient) were also shown to be satisfactory. We concluded that the CES-D scale is appropriate for use in black women regardless of their cancer status.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Black or African American / psychology*
  • Black or African American / statistics & numerical data
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Depression / diagnosis*
  • Depression / psychology
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Statistical
  • Neoplasms / psychology*
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Psychometrics
  • Quality of Life
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Women's Health