Factor structure of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies DepressionScale) among Filipino-American adolescents

The present study used factor analytic procedures to examine the factor str ucture of the CES-D among Filipino-American adolescents residing in rural a nd small town Hawaii. A total of 243 Filipino-American high school students completed the 20-item scale, and maximum likelihood analyses were employed to obtain a final solution. The results indicated that two factors provide a reasonably good fit: factor I combined depressed affect, somatic-retarda tion and interpersonal items, and factor II consisted of the remaining four positive affect items. The overlap of depressed affect and somatic symptom s support previous findings found among Asian American adults and other eth nic minority adolescents. The loading of the interpersonal items on the fir st factor is more unusual and suggests that interpersonal factors are not d istinguished from depressed affect for the Filipino-American adolescent gro up. The usefulness of the CES-D as a tool to gain an understanding of the c oncept of depression across cultures is discussed.