Measurement Bias Across Gender on the Children's Depression Inventory

Abstract

Confirmatory factor analysis for ordered-categorical measures (CFA-OCM) and rating scale item response theory (IRT) analyses explore measurement bias across gender on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) in a community sample of 779 children in the third and sixth grades. Given the set of statistical criteria, IRT and CFA-OCM generally establish measurement equivalence. Results substantiate both Craighead et al.'s five-factor model and IRT models with the CDI, demonstrate their convergence regarding bias, support the use of the CDI in cross-gender comparisons, suggest a separate scoring method need not be developed for children in this age range, and provide evidence that previously noted developmental similarities in depression reflect true similarities. Given measurement invariance, observed score analyses demonstrate no statistically significant differences between boys and girls on the CDI total score and four scores created as a function of the factor model. However, girls endorse statistically significant elevated levels on a dysphoria score.