The Latent Structure of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale

Taxometric analyses were used to assess the latent structure of depressive symptoms as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Participants were 3,395 college students enrolled in Introductory Psychology classes at a mid-size university. Analyses included data simulation strategies to assure that the data was appropriate for interpreting skewed indicators and small putative taxa. Four indicators (depressed mood, positive affect, somatic, and interpersonal symptoms) were derived from principal components analysis. Taxometric analyses indicated that distributions of the four CES-D factor based indicators were dimensional. Results are consistent with a continuity model of the latent structure of questionnaire measures of depressive symptoms in this young adult population, of which approximately 15% scored above the clinical cut-point for the CES-D scale.