中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: The 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), developed by Radloff (1977), has been widely used in survey research to assess depressive symptoms among older adults. Of the original 20 CES-D items, 10 have been adopted repeatedly in the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA) in 5 waves of investigation, as well as in other studies. The psychometric properties of this short form of the CES-D therefore deserve a thorough examination. We examined the reliability, criterion-related validity, and construct validity of scores from the 10-item short form of the CES-D used in the TLSA to evaluate their appropriateness for assessing depressive symptoms of older adults in Taiwan. Methods: We analyzed data collected with the 10-item short form of CES-D in the 5 waves of the TLSA conducted between 1989 and 2003. Internal consistency reliability of scale scores, stability of the scores over time, and the relationships between measured scores and demographic variables, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), life satisfaction, and self-rated health were examined. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to assess construct validity. Results: The short form showed satisfactory internal consistency reliability and stability over time. Females and less-educated older adults tended to have more depressive symptoms. Participants who indicated poorer ADL/IADL, lower self-rated health, and less satisfaction with life were likely to report more depressive symptoms. Three factors were found underlying the short form, namely Somatic Symptoms, Depressed Affect, and Positive Affect. In addition, the results also supported the invariance of the 3-factor structure of the short form across 5 time points. Conclusions: The 10-item short form of CES-D in the TLSA demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and can be considered a reliable and valid measure of geriatric depressive symptoms among older adults in Taiwan.