
The Interview Mode Effect on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale
An Item Response Theory Analysis
Published in: Medical Care, v. 42, no. 3, Mar. 2004, p. 281-289
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 2004
BACKGROUND: Evidence of a mode effect has raised concerns about the comparability and validity of self- versus interviewer-administered versions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Response anonymity has been proposed to explain this effect. However, the factors that contribute to this mode effect are not well understood. The authors used item response theory (IRT) to examine the nature of the CES-D mode effect. METHODS: A sample of depressed primary care patients from the Partners-in-Care Study were randomized to receive either a phone interview (N = 139) or a mail survey (N = 139) of the CES-D. They used likelihood ratio tests to identify differentially functioning items in the 2 groups. Category response curves are used to describe these effects. RESULTS: Twelve items manifested differential functioning. Category response curves consistently indicate that phone respondents had a lower probability of endorsing the third of 4 response categories than mail respondents, suggesting a possible cognitive effect. CONCLUSION: Although response anonymity could be important in mode effects observed in surveys of sensitive topics, cognitive factors appear more important to the mode effect in the CES-D.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.