RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Center for Epidemiology Surveys-Depression (CES-D) scale for inordinate false positives, due to measurement of non-depression-related somatic complaints. DESIGN: Cross-sectional correlation of analysis of random multi-cluster samples. SETTING: Thirteen counties considered representative of the community-dwelling elderly population of Alabama. PARTICIPANTS: One-thousand-sixty persons aged 55 and older. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Study evaluated the relationship of somatic symptomatology, as measured by the Multi-Level Assessment Instrument's Physical Health Domain Index (PHDI) composite score and its three component indices, with the CES-D and its four component scales, particularly the Somatic scale. RESULTS: The CES-D total score and the Somatic scale were not related to: age increases in the sample; PHDI composite score or the three index scores; or to subgroups of high and low PHDI composite scores. Among those screened as depressed, the PHDI and the three indices were not related to the CES-D total score or three of the four subscales. The CES-D Somatic scale was positively related to those depressed persons with the highest number of total PHDI somatic complaints. However, among the depressed group there were more persons scoring greater than 1.5 standard deviations above the mean on the CES-D Depressive Affect scale (n = 81) than on the Somatic scale (n = 65). CONCLUSIONS: The CES-D and its Somatic scale were relatively unbiased by the respondent's somatic complaints. The CES-D can continue to be considered valid under these circumstances.
Asunto(s)
Trastorno Depresivo/epidemiología , Evaluación Geriátrica , Inventario de Personalidad/normas , Afecto , Anciano , Alabama/epidemiología , Comorbilidad , Estudios Transversales , Recolección de Datos , Trastorno Depresivo/complicaciones , Trastorno Depresivo/diagnóstico , Estudios de Evaluación como Asunto , Femenino , Estado de Salud , Encuestas Epidemiológicas , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Inventario de Personalidad/estadística & datos numéricos , Sensibilidad y EspecificidadRESUMEN
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine factorial invariance across young, middle-aged, and elderly age groups, using Levenson's multidimensional locus of control (LoC) scale, which measures beliefs in Internal Control (I), Control by Powerful Others (P), and Chinese (C). Data were obtained from 563 individuals ranging in age from 25 years to 75 years of age who resided in Southeastern Louisiana. Results indicated that Levenson's 3-factor conceptualization of control was not a valid representation of the samples' responses. A model that specified the elimination of 17 unreliable items and the formation of both an internal and an external control factor that was based on the seven remaining I and P items provided an adequate fit to the data for the three age groups, though when additional constraints were specified, factorial invariance was not demonstrated. The 7-item I and P factor model generated a pattern of relationships with other measures which was similar to the pattern found if all items of the I and P scales were used.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento/fisiología , Modelos Estadísticos , Personalidad/fisiología , Adulto , Anciano , Análisis de Varianza , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
The 1987 amendments to the Older Americans Act of 1965 required that State Offices on Aging identify agencies involved in identifying and treating abused, neglected, and exploited elders and determine the need for appropriate services for such individuals. This paper discusses how the Dallas, Texas Area Agency on Aging met this requirement and what the community did to increase services for those in need. The creation of an Elder Abuse Task Force had a radiating impact on state law, the statewide adult protective service system, and regional policymaking bodies.
Asunto(s)
Servicios de Salud Comunitaria/legislación & jurisprudencia , Abuso de Ancianos/legislación & jurisprudencia , Anciano , Humanos , TexasRESUMEN
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the appropriateness of using with elderly persons Levenson's multidimensional locus of control (LoC) scale that measures beliefs in Internal Control (I), Control by Powerful Others (P), and Chance (C). Data were obtained from elderly individuals in Florida and Texas and reformulated to allow cross-validation at each step in a series of model evaluations. Results indicated that Levenson's three-factor specification of control was not a valid representation of the samples' responses. A model that specified the elimination of eleven unreliable items and the formation of a new external control factor that was based on the remaining C and P items provided an adequate fit to the data for both samples. The failure to confirm Levenson's three-factor structure poses a construct-validity and measurement-equivalence problem when making age-based comparisons of LoC scores.
Asunto(s)
Anciano/psicología , Control Interno-Externo , Inventario de Personalidad , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , PsicometríaRESUMEN
The factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory short form (BDI-SF) was investigated in two elderly samples, with the method of confirmatory factor analysis. Four models previously reported for the BDI-SF in the general adult population were compared for goodness of fit to the data for elderly respondents, and the best-fitting model was adjusted further for these data. Each step in the analyses of the BDI-SF responses of 199 elderly subjects from Tampa, Florida, was cross-validated with data from a second sample of 113 elderly subjects from Houston, Texas. The results confirmed that the three-factor model reported by Reynolds and Gould (1981) adequately fit the data from both elderly samples. The three identified factors were termed Negative Self-Esteem, Anergy, and Dysphoria and were considered to correspond with the cognitive, behavioral, and affective components that generally are thought to be part of the depressive syndrome. The internal consistency of the overall BDI-SF was .74 and .80 in the Tampa and Houston samples, respectively. These findings provide evidence for the construct validity of the BDI-SF by confirming that it displays a factor structure in the aged similar to that observed in the general adult population.