Epidemiologic Depression Symptomatology
Also known as: CES-D framework · Depressive Symptomatology
Framework for measuring current depressive symptomatology in the general population, developed at the NIMH Center for Epidemiologic Studies (Radloff, 1977). Depression is operationalized as the frequency of symptoms over a single week — emphasizing the affective component (depressed mood) — rather than as a clinical diagnosis: items were selected from previously validated scales to cover the major symptom components, including the deliberate measurement of positive affect, whose absence is part of depression that pure symptom lists miss. The measured state is expected to move with life events; scores are read against published screening cutoffs, never as diagnostic categories.
- Source:
- Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385-401.
Constructs
Depressive Symptoms
Current depressive symptomatology as frequency of symptoms over the past week (Radloff, 1977): depressed mood, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, helplessness and hopelessness, psychomotor retardation, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbance, with the deliberate inclusion of positive affect whose absence is part of depression that pure symptom lists miss. A state expected to move with life events, read against published screening cutoffs — never a diagnosis.
Depressed Affect
The first of Radloff's four CES-D factors (1977, p. 397): the core dysphoric mood — feeling sad, depressed, lonely, fearful, and unable to shake off the blues. Descriptive grouping for report prose; not a scored scale.
Positive Affect
The second of Radloff's four CES-D factors (1977, p. 397): the presence or absence of positive feeling — feeling as good as other people, hopeful, happy, enjoying life. Measured through reverse-keyed items so that rarely feeling happy raises the score the same way often feeling sad does. Descriptive grouping for report prose; not a scored scale.
Somatic and Retarded Activity
The third of Radloff's four CES-D factors (1977, p. 397): the bodily and psychomotor side of depression — being bothered by things, poor appetite, effort in everything, restless sleep, trouble concentrating, inability to get going. Descriptive grouping for report prose; not a scored scale.
Interpersonal Difficulties
The fourth of Radloff's four CES-D factors (1977, p. 397): the social perception component — feeling that people were unfriendly or disliked you. Descriptive grouping for report prose; not a scored scale.
Instruments
- Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale(CES-D)Radloff, L. S.1977