NLSY79 Appendix 25: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale

NLSY79 Appendix 25: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale
The CES-D is a self-report scale that measures the current prevalence of depression symptoms. Respondents rate a series of statements regarding how they felt during the week prior to the interview.
This appendix is divided into four parts:
- CES-D 20-item scale: NLSY79 1992 survey year (Scale scores for both the 20-item and the 7-item CES-D available for 1992)
- CES-D 7-item scale: NLSY79 1994 survey year
- CES-D 7-item scale: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 NLSY79 (40+ and 50+ Health Modules)
- CES-D IRT item parameter estimates, scores and standard errors with custom weighted Z-scores and percentile ranks
1. CES-D 20-item scale: 1992 NLSY79 (Scale scores for both the 20-item and the 7-item CES-D available for 1992)
Items and scoring
A set of 20 questions was asked in the 1992 NLSY79 about how often respondents felt the following way during the past week.
Table 1: CES-D 20-item Scale Questions, 1992
Item | Question | Reference Number |
1 | I was bothered by things that usually don't bother me. | R3894900 |
2 | I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor. | R3895000 |
3 | I felt that I couldn't shake off the blues even with help from my family and friends. | R3895100 |
4 | I felt that I was just as good as other people. | R3895200 |
5 | I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing. | R3895300 |
6 | I felt depressed. | R3895400 |
7 | I felt that everything I did was an effort. | R3895500 |
8 | I felt hopeful about the future. | R3895600 |
9 | I thought my life had been a failure. | R3895700 |
10 | I felt fearful. | R3895800 |
11 | My sleep was restless. | R3895900 |
12 | I was happy. | R3896000 |
13 | I talked less than usual. | R3896100 |
14 | I felt lonely. | R3896200 |
15 | People were unfriendly. | R3896300 |
16 | I enjoyed life. | R3896400 |
17 | I had crying spells. | R3896500 |
18 | I felt sad. | R3896600 |
19 | I felt that people dislike me. | R3896700 |
20 | I could not get "going." | R3896800 |
Scoring for all 16 negative-symptom questions:
0 point : Rarely or none of the time (< 1 day)
1 point : Some or a little of the time (1-2 days)
2 points: Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3-4 days)
3 points: Most or all of the time (5-7 days).
Scoring for 4 positive-symptom questions (R3895200, R3895600, R3896000, R3896400) is reversed.
CES-D 20-item scale score: scores of the above 20 items were summed. Possible range of total scores is 0 to 60, with the higher scores indicating the presence of more depressive symptoms. If more than four items are missing, the scale score is coded as missing. A flag that indicates the number of missing items for CES-D 20-item scale is also created.
CESD 7-item scale score: scores of 7 items were summed (R3895000, R3895300, R3895400, R3895500, R3895900, R3896600, R3896800). Possible range for total scores is 0 to 21. If one item is missing, the scale score is coded as missing.
Reference Number (accessed via NLS Investigator)
R3896810 = 20-item scale score
R3896811 = flag for 20-item scale score
R3896820 = 7-item scale score
2. CES-D 7-item scale: 1994 NLSY79
Items and scoring
A set of 7 questions was asked in the 1994 NLSY79 about how often respondents felt the following way during the past week.
Table 2: The 1994 NLSY79 CESD questions
Item | Question | Reference Number |
1 | I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor. | R49783.00 |
2 | I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing. | R49784.00 |
3 | I felt depressed. | R49785.00 |
4 | I felt that everything I did was an effort. | R49786.00 |
5 | My sleep was restless. | R49787.00 |
6 | I felt sad. | R49788.00 |
7 | I could not get "going". | R49789.00 |
Scoring for 7 questions:
0 point: Rarely or none of the time (< 1 day)
1 point: Some or a little of the time (1-2 days)
2 points: Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3-4 days)
3 points: Most or all of the time (5-7 days).
Scores of 7 items were summed. Total score could range from 0 to 21 points. If one item is missing, the scale score is coded as missing.
Reference Number (accessed via NLS Investigator)
R4978910
3. CES-D 7-item scale: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 NLSY79 (40+ and 50+ Health Modules)
Items and Scoring
Starting with the 1998 survey, the CES-D scale was administered in the 40-and-over health module (where questions were asked only once as respondents reached age 40) and again in the 50-and-over health modure (asked once as respondents reached age 50). The 7-item CES-D scale, first introduced in the 1994 NLSY79, was asked again in the1998 and 2000 survey rounds. Two items were added to increase the number of items to nine beginning in 2002. The seven core CES-D questions asked in all these 5 rounds were used to create the CES-D scale for the 1998-2006 surveys.
Table 3: The NLSY79 CESD questions in 40+ and 50+ Health Modules
Item | Question | Reference Number |
1 | I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor. | H0000300 |
2 | I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing. | H0000500 |
3 | I felt depressed. | H0000600 |
4 | I felt that everything I did was an effort. | H0000700 |
5 | My sleep was restless. | H0000800 |
6 | I felt sad. | H0001000 |
7 | I could not get "going". | H0001100 |
Scoring for the 7 questions:
0 point: Rarely or none of the time (< 1 day)
1 point: Some or a little of the time (1-2 days)
2 points: Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3-4 days)
3 points: Most or all of the time (5-7 days)
Scores of 7 items were summed. Total score could range from 0 to 21 points. If one item is missing, the scale score is coded as missing.
Reference Number (accessed via NLS Investigator)
H0001101
4. CES-D IRT item parameter estimates, scores and standard errors with custom weighted z-scores and percentile ranks
Several of the NLS datasets, including the NLSY79 cohort, now include CES-D variables that represent item response theory (IRT) parameter estimates and IRT scores and their standard errors of measurement. Also available are created variables that provide a custom-weighted z-score and percentile rank. See Appendix 27: IRT Item Parameter Estimates, Scores and Standard Errors for a detailed description and discussion of the IRT scoring for the CES-D and other multi-cohort attitudinal variables.
Cohorts
- NLSY97
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Asterisk Tables
- I. Employment, Unemployment, and Job Search (age restrictions as of interview date)
- II. Schooling (age restrictions as of 12/31/96)
- III. Training (age restrictions as of interview date)
- IV. Income, Assets, and Program Participation
- V. Family Formation (age restrictions as of end of previous calendar year--12/31/96 in rd 1, 12/31/97 in rd 2, and so on)
- VI. Family Background (age restrictions as of 12/31/1996)
- VII. Expectations
- VIII. Attitudes, Behaviors, and Time Use
- IX. Health (age restrictions as of 12/31/96)
- X. Political Participation
- XI. Environmental Variables (in main data set)
- Education
- Employment
- Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
- Family Background
- Marital History, Childcare & Fertility
- Income
- Health
- Attitudes
- Crime & Substance Use
- Asterisk Tables
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- Introduction to the NLSY97 Created Variable Appendices
- Appendix 1: Education Variable Creation
- Enrollment Status and Highest Grade/Degree - Appendix 1
- Date Received Diploma or Degree - Appendix 1
- Number of Grades Repeated or Skipped - Appendix 1
- Number of Schools Attended - Appendix 1
- Credits Earned toward Bachelor's/Associate's Degree - Appendix 1
- Date Left High School and Highest High School Grade - Appendix 1
- Private or Parochial School - Appendix 1
- SAT/ACT Scores - Appendix 1
- Training: Receipt of Certificate or Vocational License - Appendix 1
- Appendix 2: Employment Variable Creation
- Appendix 3: Family Background and Formation
- Household Size as of Survey Date - Appendix 3
- Marital Status and Marital/Cohabitation History - Appendix 3
- Fertility and Child Status - Appendix 3
- Number of Residences since Age 12 - Appendix 3
- Current Citizenship Status - Appendix 3
- Mother's Age at First Birth/Respondent's Birth
- Relationship to Household Parent Figures (Round 1 Parent Interview) - Appendix 3
- Relationship to Household Parent Figures (Rounds 7-9 Childhood Retrospective) - Appendix 3
- Relationship to Household Parent Figures (Interview Date) - Appendix 3
- Appendix 4: Geographic Variable Creation
- Appendix 5: Income and Assets Variable Creation
- Appendix 6: Event History Creation and Documentation
- Appendix 7: Continuous Month Scheme and Crosswalk
- Appendix 8: Instrument Rosters
- Appendix 9: Family Process and Adolescent Outcome Measures
- Appendix 10: CAT-ASVAB Scores
- Appendix 11: Collection of the Transcript Data (High School)
- Appendix 12: Post-Secondary Transcript Study
- Attachment 1: Census Industrial & Occupational Classification Codes
- Geocode Codebook Supplement
- Introduction to NLSY97 Geocode Data
- Attachment 100: Census Bureau State and County Codes
- Attachment 101: Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)/Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) Codes
- Attachment 102: IPEDS Data and College Identification Codes
- Attachment 103: Migration Distance Variables for Respondent Locations
- Attachment 104: Codebook Pages for Geocode and Zipcode Variables
- Questionnaires
- Errata
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 17 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 16 Release
- Addendum: Additional NLSY97 Speech & Post-Secondary Variables Available
- Addendum: NLSY97 Post-Secondary Data and Transcript Data Files Now Available
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 15 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 14 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 13 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 12 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 11 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 10 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 9 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 8 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 7 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 6 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 5 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 4 Release
- Errata for NLSY97 Round 3 Release
- Tutorials
- Technical Sampling Report
- Codebook Supplement
- Get Data
- Topical Guide to the Data
- NLSY79
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Asterisk Tables
- Education
- Employment
- Employment: An Introduction
- Work Experience
- Jobs & Employers
- Class of Worker
- Discrimination
- Fringe Benefits
- Industries
- Job Characteristics Index
- Job Satisfaction
- Job Search
- Labor Force Status
- Military
- Occupations
- Time & Tenure with Employers
- Wages
- Work History Data
- Employer History Roster
- Business Ownership
- Retirement
- Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
- Family Background
- Marital History, Childcare & Fertility
- Income
- Health
- Attitudes
- Crime & Substance Use
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Get Data
- Topical Guide to the Data
- NLSY79 Child/YA
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- Appendix A: HOME-SF Scales (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix B: Composition of the Temperament Scales (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix C: Motor & Social Development (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix D: Behavior Problems Index (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix D, Part 1: Composition of the BPI subscales
- Appendix D, Part 2a: BPI Anxious/Depressed Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2b: BPI Antisocial Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2c: BPI Dependent Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2d: BPI Headstrong Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2e: BPI Hyperactive Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2f: BPI Peer Conflicts/Withdrawn Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2g: BPI Full Scale
- Appendix D, Part 3a: BPI Internalizing Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 3b: BPI Externalizing Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 3c: BPI Total Scores
- Appendix E: Sample SPSSx Program for Merging NLSY79 Child/YA & Mother Files
- Appendix F: Sample SAS Program for Merging NLSY79 Child/YA & Mother Files
- Appendix G: NLSY79 Child Assessment Scores, Reference Numbers (2010-2014)
- Appendix H: Identification Codes in the Child and Young Adult Database
- Attachment 100: Codebook Pages for Young Adult Geocode Data
- Questionnaires
- Errata
- Errata for 2014 Child/Young Adult Release
- Data Addition: New Work and School Status Variables Created
- Errata for 2012 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2010 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2008 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2006 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2004 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2002 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2000 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for NLSY79 Child Interview Dates 1986-1992
- Research/Technical Reports
- Codebook Supplement
- Get Data
- NLS Mature and Young Women
- NLS Older and Young Men