Factor Structure and Invariance Analysis of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R) in a Brazilian Population

Abstract

Introduction: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R) was developed to provide an efficient screening scale for depression syndrome, mimicking the original CESD, one of the most widely used screening tools to measure depressive symptoms globally. This investigation examined the factor structure of the CESD-R with a non-clinical Brazilian population. Method: We performed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of two adult samples, and also conducted invariance analysis by sex and place of residence of the participants. The full sample consisted of 1,427 adults, divided into two groups. The first sample (n = 400) was used for the EFA and the second sample (n = 1027) for the CFA. Results: The EFA indicated an internal structure composed of a single factor, which explained 53.2% of the variance. The CFA attested to the unidimensionality of the measure. Fit indices and reliability indicators showed values higher than expected, without modifications in the initial structure. The model was invariant in relation to the variables investigated at four different levels (configural, metric, scalar, and strict). Conclusions: Our findings support the utility of the CESD-R and suggest its validity for application to the Brazilian population in general. © 2021 Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NCND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Estrutura Fatorial e Análise de Invariância da Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R) em uma População Brasileira Resumo Introdução: A Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R) foi elaborada para fornecer um eficiente diagnóstico de sintomas de depressão, seguindo a proposta original da CESD, que é uma das escalas para rastreamento da depressão mais utilizadas mundialmente. Esta pesquisa avaliou a estrutura fatorial da CESD-R em uma população não-clínica no Brasil. Método: Realizaram-se análises fatoriais exploratória (AFE) e confirmatória (AFC) com duas amostras compostas por adultos. Também foi verificada a invariância do modelo por sexo e local de residência do participante. A amostra total foi composta por Factor Structure and Invariance Analysis of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R) in a Brazilian Population Andre Faro *, Daiane Nunes dos Santos a, William W. Eaton b a Department of Psychology, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil b Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, USA Received 7 September 2019; accepted 4 September 2020