Reliability, validity and psychometric properties of the Arabic Version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression [CES-D] scale

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to assess the reliability, validity and psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression [CES-D] scale. The participants were 1186 secondary school adolescents aged 15-17 years in Alexandria Governorate. They were subjected to the Arabic version of Child Depression Inventory [CDI], CES-D and Coppersmith self-esteem. The results revealed that 9.5% of the students were moderately to severely depressed according to the CDI cutoff score. Using the receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve, a cutoff point of 25 subjects produced the best overall screening efficiency. The internal consistency of the scale was acceptable. The test-retest reliability was satisfactory. Factor analysis extracted four factors that explained 50.08% of variability; namely, negative effect/cognitive symptoms, interpersonal difficulties, reduced positive affects and somatic complaints with an acceptable reliability. A concurrent validity was supported by significant high Spearman's correlation between CDI and CES-D scores and a convergent validity was confirmed by inverse moderate correlation between CES-D scores and Coppersmith self-esteem scale scores