Differences Among Core Dimensions of The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale Across Age and Gender Groups

The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a widely used self-report scale to assess depressive symptom levels among the general population. The purposes of the study are to explore the factor structure of CES-D in a population-based Canadian sample and to compare focal constructs of CES-D across age and gender. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor structure of the CES-D across three age categories and both genders. Subscales scores, however, showed important differences primarily based on gender. Attending to these specific symptom dimensions could help explain known gender differences in depression.