Race/ethnicity and the factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: a meta-analysis

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine racial/ethnic differences in the factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The total number of participants (N) in the assessed studies (k) varied according to whether the original study had used either Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA; N = 19,206, k = 13) or Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA; N = 65,554, k = 16). The factor structures of the CES-D were compared across five racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, American Indians, Asians, Whites, and Hispanics. Meta-analysis results suggest that the structure of the CES-D observed in EFAs varied substantially between racial/ethnic groups, whereas the CFA-assessed structure of the CES-D was mostly consistent between racial/ethnic groups. The meta-analysis of EFA studies did not consistently replicate the original four-factor structure reported by Radloff (1977), but the meta-analysis of CFA studies replicated the original four-factor structure in four of the five racial/ethnic groups. Overall, the present meta-analysis found strong evidence that the original four-factor structure may not be the best fit for all racial/ethnic groups. Thus, in clinical settings where the CES-D is used as a tool to screen for depression, clinicians and researchers should recognize the risk that symptoms of depression may be presented differently by members of different racial/ethnic groups.     

The scale of ethnic experience: development and psychometric properties

The Scale of Ethnic Experience (SEE) is a new self-report instrument designed to measure multiple ethnicity-related cognitive constructs across ethnic groups. We present the development and psychometric properties here. We generated and refined an item pool using expert consultants and culturally diverse focus groups. We derived a final 32-item version of the SEE based on separate factor analyses of data from college students in 4 ethnic groups: African Americans, Caucasian Americans, Filipino Americans, and Mexican Americans. Four factors were consistent across the ethnic groups: Ethnic Identity, Perceived Discrimination, Mainstream Comfort, and Social Affiliation. We found evidence of test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and criterion and construct validity for all groups. Finally, we cross-validated the factor structure of the SEE in a culturally diverse sample. Results support the reliability and validity of the SEE as a multidimensional measure of ethnicity-related cognitive constructs that can be used across American ethnic groups.     

The moderating role of ethnicity in the relation between religiousness and mental health among ethnically diverse college students

Many studies have documented the links between dimensions of religiousness with mental health (e.g., Hackney and Sanders 2003; Mofidi et al. 2006). However, very little is known about whether these links differ across ethnic groups. This study examined the contribution of dimensions of religiousness to the prediction of mental health in an ethnically diverse sample of 413 college students (167 European Americans, 83 African Americans, 81 Asian Americans, and 82 Latino Americans). Results indicated significant ethnic differences across dimensions of religiousness. African Americans were significantly higher on religious engagement and religious conservatism than the other ethnic groups and significantly lower on religious struggle than European Americans. Moderated multiple regressions revealed that increases in religious struggle was associated with poorer mental health for African Americans and Latino Americans, while increases in religious engagement and ecumenical worldview were associated with better mental health for African Americans. The findings indicate that ethnicity is an important factor to consider when examining the link between religiousness and mental health.     

Body dysmorphic symptoms: phenomenology and ethnicity

Differences in the presentation of clinical features of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) across ethnic groups have received little investigation. The current study assessed BDD symptoms in an ethnically diverse sample of adults (n=401) using an online survey. Participants completed self-report measures assessing BDD symptoms, body parts of concern and BDD behaviors. Compared to Caucasian participants, no significant differences were found in body parts or behaviors reported by Latino or African American participants. Significant group differences did emerge between Asian and Caucasian participants. Specifically, Asians reported more concern with straight hair and dark skin and fewer body shape concerns than Caucasians. Asians also endorsed lower rates of grooming, touching body parts, and camouflaging and higher rates of exercise compared to Caucasians. Although most clinical features of BDD appear similar across ethnic groups, results showed some differences in body parts and behaviors between Caucasians and Asian Americans with BDD symptoms.     

A multicultural assessment of adolescent connectedness: testing measurement invariance across gender and ethnicity

Counselors, psychologists, and evaluators of intervention programs for youth increasingly view the promotion of connectedness as an important intervention outcome. When evaluating these programs, researchers frequently test whether the treatment effects differ across gender and ethnic or racial groups. Doing so necessitates the availability of culturally and gender-invariant measures. We used the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness to estimate the factor structure invariance and equality of means across gender and 3 racial/ethnic groups with a large sample of middle school adolescents. From a practical perspective, the 10-scale model suggested factor structure invariance across gender and racial or ethnic (i.e., African American, Caucasian, and Latina/o) groups of adolescents. However, tests for partial invariance revealed some group difference on the factor loadings and intercepts between gender and ethnic/racial groups. When testing for mean equivalence, girls reported higher connectedness to friends, siblings, school, peers, teachers, and reading but lower connectedness to their neighborhoods. Caucasians reported higher connectedness to their neighborhoods and friends but lower connectedness to siblings than African Americans and Latinos. African Americans reported the highest connectedness to self (present and future) but lowest connectedness to teachers. Latinos reported the lowest connectedness to reading, self-in-the-present, and self-in-the-future. Overall, this study reveals racial/ethnic and gender mean differences on several connectedness subscales and suggests the Hemingway subscales are, from a practical perspective, invariant across gender and ethnicity and therefore appropriate for most assessment and evaluation purposes.     

The Factor Structure of Effortful Control and Measurement Invariance Across Ethnicity and Sex in a High-Risk Sample

Measurement invariance of a one-factor model of effortful control (EC) was tested for 853 low-income preschoolers (M age = 4.48 years). Using a teacher-report questionnaire and seven behavioral measures, configural invariance (same factor structure across groups), metric invariance (same pattern of factor loadings across groups), and partial scalar invariance (mostly the same intercepts across groups) were established across ethnicity (European Americans, African Americans and Hispanics) and across sex. These results suggest that the latent construct of EC behaved in a similar way across ethnic groups and sex, and that comparisons of mean levels of EC are valid across sex and probably valid across ethnicity, especially when larger numbers of tasks are used. The findings also support the use of diverse behavioral measures as indicators of a single latent EC construct.     

Adult age, gender, and race group differences in images of aging

Younger and older African American and Caucasian American adults, who were matched by age (M age = 40.63 years), completed a survey on perceptions of aging and subjective age. The 2 groups did not differ in the age they considered someone to be old (M age = 74.5 years). However, when asked which age was the happiest age, African Americans chose a significantly younger age (M age = 18.26 years) than did Caucasian Americans (M age = 31.32 years), and this racial group difference interacted with age differences such that older Caucasian Americans named an older age than did younger Caucasian Americans. The authors found no such age difference for African Americans. When asked if old age was a happy time, 60% of Caucasian Americans answered yes, whereas only 2% of African Americans answered yes. These and other differences in images and concerns of old age and subjective age suggest a far more negative view of aging for African Americans and a need for changes in the provision of positive information about aging for this group.     

The measurement of self-esteem among Korean Americans: a cross-ethnic study

Studies have indicated that Asians' self-esteem is generally lower than other ethnic groups'. The authors hypothesized that an item response bias would result in lower self-esteem scores for Asians. Specifically, it was hypothesized that positively worded items would be rated lower by Korean Americans but that there would be no difference on negatively worded items across ethnic groups. The hypothesis was tested using 214 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia who were Korean American, Caucasian, African American, or Latino. Results supported the hypothesis. Korean Americans had significantly lower self-esteem scores than the other 3 groups on all positively worded items but were no different from the other groups on negatively worded items. Additional analyses showed modest support for the cross-cultural construct equivalence of this measure of self-esteem.     

Subjective, behavioral, and physiological reactivity to ethnically matched and ethnically mismatched film clips

This study examined whether individuals from 4 major ethnic groups within the United States (African American, Chinese American, European American, and Mexican American) showed greater subjective, behavioral, and physiological responses to emotional film clips (amusement, sadness, and disgust) with actors from their own ethnic group (ethnically matched) compared with actors from the other 3 ethnic groups (ethnically mismatched). Evidence showed greater responsivity to ethnically matched films for African Americans and European Americans, with the largest effect for African Americans. These findings were consistent across both sex and level of cultural identification. Findings of ethnic difference notwithstanding, there were many areas in which ethnic differences were not found (e.g., little or no evidence was found of greater response to ethnically matched films in Chinese-American or Mexican- American participants). These findings indicate that the emotional response system clearly reacts to stimuli of diverse ethnic content; however, the system is also amenable to subtle "tuning" that allows for incrementally enhanced responding to members of one's own ethnic or cultural group.     

Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia in a Multiethnic Urban Outpatient Clinic: Initial Presentation and Treatment Outcome

Few studies examine the effectiveness of panic control treatment across diverse ethnic groups. In this paper we present data on 40 patients (African American, n = 24; Caucasian, n = 16) with panic disorder and comorbid agoraphobia who presented at an anxiety disorder clinic in an inner-city area. On initial assessment both groups were similar on psychometric measures, and both groups moderately improved with treatment though significant residual symptoms remained. We illustrate, through case examples, a variety of clinical issues that need to be addressed when providing treatment to multiethnic African American clients with panic disorder and agoraphobia.     

The development of ethnic identity during adolescence

The development of ethnic identity is a critical facet of adolescence, particularly for adolescents of color. In order to examine the developmental trajectory of ethnic identity, African American, Latino American, and European American early and middle adolescents (N = 420) were assessed over 3 years. Two components of ethnic identity were assessed--group-esteem was found to rise for both early and middle adolescents; exploration rose for middle adolescents. African Americans and Latino Americans were lower in group-esteem but have greater increases than European Americans, particularly across a school transition. The course of ethnic identity development during early and middle adolescence, the role of school context, and the variability in developmental trajectories among racial and ethnic groups are discussed.     

Validation of the NEO Personality Inventory and the five-factor model. Can findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis be reconciled?

The aims of the study were (i) to analyse a Norwegian version of the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), using both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); (ii) to compare the results of the two factor analytic strategies, both within the present study and across different studies; and (iii) to discuss possible causes of discrepant findings (across factor-analytic methods and across samples). The sample comprised 961 subjects representative of the non-institutionalized Norwegian adult population. Using an EFA strategy, very high coefficients of factor comparability (r=0.93–0.99) across sexes were found. None of the five main domains turned out to be as homogeneous as suggested by the original five-factor model, but most of the deviations from the assumed simple structure were comparable to results from recent American studies. However, none of the revised EFA-based models were supported using CFA methods. Moreover, a large number of modifications were necessary to obtain a model with acceptable fit. It is argued that these discrepant findings can be accounted for, at least in part, by (i) consequences of different model acceptance criteria in the EFA and CFA tradition, (ii) the inherent logical–semantical structure of the NEO-PI, and (iii) consequences of selection effects (factorial invariance problem). © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Racial Differences in Beliefs About the Effectiveness and Necessity of Mental Health Treatment

Members of racial/ethnic minority groups are less likely than Caucasians to access mental health services despite recent evidence of more favorable attitudes regarding treatment effectiveness. The present study explored this discrepancy by examining racial differences in beliefs about how the natural course and seriousness of mental illnesses relate to perceived treatment effectiveness. The analysis is based on a nationally representative sample of 583 Caucasian and 82 African American participants in a vignette experiment about people living with mental illness. While African Americans were more likely than Caucasians to believe that mental health professionals could help individuals with schizophrenia and major depression, they were also more likely to believe mental health problems would improve on their own. This belief was unrelated to beliefs about treatment effectiveness. These findings suggest that a belief in treatment effectiveness may not increase service utilization among African Americans who are more likely to believe treatment is unnecessary.     

African American and European American Perceptions of Problematic Issues in Interethnic Communication Effectiveness

African American and European American perceptions of interethnic communication effectiveness were compared. Interethnic communication was conceptualized as a problematic event (perceptually organized into communication issues). Hypotheses proposed that ethnic identity would predict conversational issues which, in turn, would predict satisfaction. Nine issues salient to communication were derived from previous research: powerlessness, stereotyping, acceptance, goal attainment, authenticity, understanding, expressiveness, shared worldview, relational solidarity, and relaxation. The hypotheses were tested for differences between African Americans and European Americans with additional tests far relationship closeness. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factorial validity of the issues and indicated that identity had both political and social dimensions for African Americans but only a single dimension for European Americans. Path analysis did not support the causal ordering. However, when the causal link between identity and issues was eliminated and satisfaction was regressed on the entire set of predictor variables the multiple Rs were above .91 for both ethnic groups. Different issues were associated with satisfaction for each group and for close and distant relationships for each ethnic group.     

Gender and ethnic differences in body image and opposite sex figure preferences of rural adolescents

This study examined whether rural adolescents would report gender and ethnic differences in body image similar to those that have been observed in urban samples. Data were analyzed for 384 rural adolescents (57% African American, 43% Caucasian, mean age 13 years) to determine gender and ethnic differences in body dissatisfaction, body size discrepancy, and current and ideal figure ratings. Females wanted to be smaller and reported more body dissatisfaction than did males. Caucasian females reported the most body dissatisfaction. African Americans reported larger current and ideal figure ratings than did Caucasians. African Americans preferred larger opposite sex figures than did Caucasians. Both African American and Caucasian males selected a larger female figure as ideal than was selected by females. Results demonstrated that gender and ethnic differences exist in body image for rural adolescents. This frequently overlooked population may benefit from further study. Implications of findings and limitations of the study are also discussed.     

Ethnicity, coping, and distress among Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, and Caucasian Americans

The authors examined appraisal, coping, and distress among Korean American, Filipino American, and Caucasian American Protestants. No interaction effects emerged among ethnic groups, but there were significant ethnic main effects for appraisal and coping. Compared with the Caucasian Americans, both Asian American groups appraised stressors as more challenging, and the Korean Americans appraised them also as greater losses. Both Asian American groups reported using more strategies of accepting responsibility, religious coping, distancing, and escape-avoidance than the Caucasian Americans did; the Filipino Americans also reported more problem-solving strategies than the Caucasian Americans. For all participants, challenge appraisals predicted adaptive coping (problem solving and positive reappraisal) and less distress. Problem solving, seeking social support, and positive reappraisal predicted less distress; self-control, accepting responsibility, and escape-avoidance predicted greater distress. The authors stressed the value of assessing ethnicity in coping research.     

American = White?

Six studies investigated the extent to which American ethnic groups (African, Asian, and White) are associated with the category "American." Although strong explicit commitments to egalitarian principles were expressed in Study 1, Studies 2-6 consistently revealed that both African and Asian Americans as groups are less associated with the national category "American" than are White Americans. Under some circumstances, a dissociation between mean levels of explicit beliefs and implicit responses emerged such that an ethnic minority was explicitly regarded to be more American than were White Americans, but implicit measures showed the reverse pattern (Studies 3 and 4). In addition, Asian American participants themselves showed the American = White effect, although African Americans did not (Study 5). The American = White association was positively correlated with the strength of national identity in White Americans. Together, these studies provide evidence that to be American is implicitly synonymous with being White.     

Boundaries of American Identity: Relations Between Ethnic Group Prototypicality and Policy Attitudes

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority‐group members (European Americans) than among minority‐group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attributes of the American identity as they pertain to different ethnic groups and reported their endorsement of policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. We found a relative consensus across ethnic groups regarding defining components of the American identity. However, European Americans were perceived as more prototypical of this American identity than ethnic minorities, especially by European American raters. Moreover, for European Americans but not for ethnic minorities, relative ingroup prototypicality was related to antiminority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. These findings suggest that for European Americans, perceptions of ethnic group prototypicality fulfill an instrumental function linked to preserving their group interests and limiting the rights afforded to ethnic minorities.     

Examining Prospective Mediation Models of Body Surveillance, Trait Anxiety, and Body Dissatisfaction in African American and Caucasian College Women

Within dominant U.S. culture, the feminine body has been positioned as an object to be looked at and sexually gazed upon; thus, females often learn to view themselves from an observer’s perspective and to treat themselves as objects to be looked at (i.e., self-objectification). Self-objectification often results in negative outcomes, such as body dissatisfaction, among Caucasian samples, but the correlates and consequences of self-objectification among African Americans are less clear. Given that this construct may vary considerably across racial/ethnic groups, the current study considers how self-objectification affects both African American and Caucasian college women’s body dissatisfaction. This was assessed via two prospective mediation models that utilized bootstrapping techniques. In the first model, trait anxiety was tested as a mediator of the relation between body surveillance, the behavioral indicator of self-objectification, and body dissatisfaction; in the second model, body surveillance was examined as a mediator of the relation between trait anxiety and body dissatisfaction. Participants at Time 1 were 276 undergraduate women attending a Midwestern university in the U.S.; 97 (35%) described themselves as African American/Black, and 179 as Caucasian non-Hispanic/White; at Time 2, 70 African American females and 156 Caucasian females provided data. At these two time points, separated by about 5?months, participants completed the same set of questionnaires. Results indicated that the first mediation model was not significant for either group, but the second model was significant for the Caucasian women. Results provide some support for the differential effects of self-objectification on women’s body dissatisfaction depending on race/ethnicity.     

Cross-ethnic friendships, perceived discrimination, and their effects on ethnic activism over time: a longitudinal investigation of three ethnic minority groups

This research examines cross-ethnic friendships as a predictor of perceived discrimination and support for ethnic activism over time among African American, Latino American, and Asian American undergraduate participants from a multi-year, longitudinal study conducted in the United States. Our research builds on prior cross-sectional research by testing effects longitudinally and examining how relationships among these variables may differ across ethnic minority groups. Results indicate that, over time, greater friendships with Whites predict both lower perceptions of discrimination and less support for ethnic activism among African Americans and Latino Americans, but not among Asian Americans. Implications of these findings for future research on inter-group contact, minority-majority relations, and ethnic group differences in status are discussed.