Validation of measures of depression with Hispanic children : a multimethod investigation /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1990.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to validate several measures of depression with a sample of Hispanic fourth and fifth grade students. Four measures of depression were utilized. These included: the Children's Depression Inventory; the Child Depression Scale; the Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression and the Teacher Rating Scale of depression. An acculturation scale (Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans) was used to subdivide the Hispanic sample, as recommended by related research. The validation of the depression measures was conducted by obtaining normative data for each depression measure and comparing the results obtained in relevant research studies to the findings of the present study. Correlational data were obtained among the various measures and the effects of sex and acculturation level were examined via a multitrait-multimethod method. The sample was comprised of predominantly Hispanic fourth and fifth grade students from a large rural school district in South Texas. The sample consisted of: 396 Hispanic students; 50 Anglo students and 10 students classified as belonging to another ethnic group. A total of 36 classrooms participated in the study resulting in a total sample size of 454 subjects. The results of this study indicate that with the Children's Depression Inventory, Hispanic children appear to report higher levels of depression as compared to their Anglo counterparts. On the other, hand, with the Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression, Anglo students were rated by their peers as exhibiting a higher level of depression. No significant differences in terms of ethnic group were found on other depression measures. It appears that the measurement of depression with Hispanic samples varys across sex and acculturation levels. That is, there appears to be a within-group variation in the Hispanic sample with regard to the measurement of depression. Finally, evidence was found for an across-group variation between Anglo and Hispanic subjects when using certain depression measures. More research with Hispanic children is warranted to replicate these findings and to add to the significant void in childhood depression literature focusing on school-aged Hispanic younsters. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: School psychology." |
| Physical Description: | xi, 126 leaves ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |