Factor variability of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) among urban Latinos

Establishing comparable measurement properties across different populations or in different population subgroups is a crucial yet often neglected step in instrument development. Failure to have comparable factor structures across groups makes any comparison between groups suspect. Previous analyses of the measurement structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in diverse racial/ethnic populations have resulted in conflicting results. In the present analysis, data from three studies of urban Latinos (N = 1,403) were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques to (1) fit the original four-factor solution separately in men and women; (2) evaluate configural and metric invariance between men and women; and (3) evaluate the mediating effects of age and acculturation on the fit of this model to the data. Results indicated that the four-factor model proposed by Radloff provided adequate fit to the data for Latina women when age and acculturation were included in the model. The four-factor model did not fit the data for Latino men; thus tests of configural and metric invariance across these two groups failed. We conclude that the CES-D may not measure the same constructs in Latino men and women and that further evaluation of the use of this measure in diverse populations is needed. Additionally, prior to comparison with other groups in which the four-factor solution is observed, the effects of age and acculturation should be controlled in Latinas.