The NLSY79 40-and-over Health, 50-and-over Health, and 60-and-over Health modules include mental health-related questions from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the SF-12 scale. Additionally, the 60-and-over Health module contains other attitudinal scales such as the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) scale. See the Physical Health section for an overview of the age-related Health modules.

Depression Scale (CES-D)

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) measures symptoms of depression, discriminates between clinically depressed individuals and others, and is highly correlated with other depression rating scales (see Radloff 1977; Ross and Mirowsky 1989). First administered to NLYS79 respondents in 1992 (R38949.- R38968), the CES-D is a 20-item instrument. Sixteen of the items ask about negative symptoms (e.g., feeling sad, depressed, poor appetite, etc.). Four items (R38952., R38956., R38960., & R38964.) ask about positive symptoms (e.g., feeling happy). Symptom severity is measured by asking the frequency of occurrence of each item over the preceding week. Responses range from 0 (rarely or none of the time/1 day) to 3 (most or all of the time/5-7 days). The four positive symptom items are reverse- scored, and responses to all items are then summed, resulting in a maximum score of 60. Most studies have used a cutoff of 16 as an indicator of depression.

Based on research by Ross and Mirowsky (1989) and others, the number of CES-D items included in the 1994 NLSY79 was reduced to seven (R49783. - R49789.). However, only 5 items of the 7-item Mirowsky and Ross scale were used and the item response choices in the NLSY79 were kept consistent with the 1992 NLSY79 (and original Radloff) responses to the full CES-D: 0 (rarely or none of the time/1 day) to 3 (most or all of the time/5-7 days). (Mirowsky and Ross used the following response set in their 7-item administration: # days in the past week, 0-7.) The CES-D scale was NOT administered in the 1996 NLSY79 survey round. Beginning in 1998 the CES-D was moved to the HEALTH section and is asked only of respondents once when they turn age 40 and again when they turn age 50.

Additional information about the CES-D variables are available in the NLSY79 Codebook Supplement. Appendix 25 outlines the created variables for CES-D scale scores and questions, while Appendix 27 provides the IRT item parameter estimates, along with scores and standard errors for the CES-D.

Additional mental health variables

Loneliness

In the 2022 survey, five questions about loneliness were administered to all respondents. The questions asked how much of the time does R:

• lack companionship
• feel left out
• feel isolated from others
• feel misunderstood
• feel there are people R can turn to

These variables can be accessed by searching the NLS Investigator for the question name root: Q11-LONE.

Job stress

In the 2018-2022 surveys, respondents were asked a series of job stress questions such as if they had serious on-going stress at work in the last 12 months and the effect their job had on their emotional or mental health. These variables can be accessed by searching the NLS Investigator for the question name root: QES-JSWD. (See the Jobs & Employers section for more details.)

Spouse/partner mental health status

In the 2018-2022 surveys, respondents were asked to rate their spouse's/partner's mental health and physical health. These variables can be accessed by searching the NLS Investigator for the question name root: Q2-SP.