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C S Aneshensel

Publications and source records attributed to C S Aneshensel.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Race, ethnicity, and depression: a confirmatory analysis.

This study addresses two questions: (a) Are depressive-symptom scales equally indicative of depression in different racial/ethnic groups and (b) are there mean differences between the groups in the underlying depressive disorder assessed by these scales? The data consist of interviews obtained from a large community survey of depression in Los Angeles County. Four racial/ethnic groups were considered: Anglos, blacks, English-speaking Hispanics, and Spanish-speaking Hispanics. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test both one-factor and two-factor models of depression. An invariant factor pattern was demonstrated. No significant mean differences on a factor of Depression were found, but the groups were found to differ on a Well-Being factor. Implications for survey research on psychiatric impairment among different racial/ethnic groups are discussed.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1983

Analysis of non-response in a prospective study of depression in Los Angeles County.

The occurrence of depression in a probability sample of 1003 Los Angeles County adults was measured in a 1979-80 prospective cohort study. The primary measure of depression was the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Of the original 1003 adults, 893 were successfully re-interviewed at a second time period (reasons for not being interviewed originally and at the second time period are given). Demographic data on those not re-interviewed are contrasted with data from those who did respond. The mean depression level and percentage classified as depressed at the first interview were higher in non-respondents than in respondents to the second interview. Techniques are given for assessing whether discontinued participation is due to exposure or disease factors. For this study, it was shown that dropping out of the study was mainly due to exposure (or demographic) factors and not to depression as such. Two methods for estimating the level of disease at the second time period for respondents and dropouts are illustrated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Depression, problem recognition, and professional consultation.

Data are from a 1979 community sample (n = 1000) of adults in Los Angeles County. The analysis examines how depressive symptoms, measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, and a variety of other factors influence problem recognition and use of mental health services. Of those people with a high level of depressive symptoms, nearly one third view themselves as having a nondepressive problem, while another third view themselves as having no personal problem. After controlling for demographic and other factors, depressive symptoms emerge as the most important element enhancing problem recognition; being female and having more education also enhance recognition of depressive problems and enable people to distinguish depressive from other problems. Among those with a high level of depressive symptoms, only one third had consulted a mental health service in the prior year. Factors promoting use of mental health services among those who acknowledge a personal problem include depressive symptoms, prior use of mental health services, use of services by friends and relatives, and discussion with friends and relatives about counseling; no significant effects emerge for sex, age, education, income, or insurance coverage. Data from the untreated show that a self-reliant attitude and some practical barriers prevent people with depressive symptoms from obtaining professional help.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Stress and depression: a test of the buffering model of social support.

The buffering model of social support states that effective social support networks lessen the adverse psychological consequences of stress. Among a large community sample (N = 1,000) of Los Angeles County adults interviewed in 1979, life-event losses and perceived strain were positively related to depressive symptomatology, while close relationships and perceived support were negatively related to these symptoms. In all models tested, these effects were found to be direct effects, not interaction effects as predicted by the buffering model. The effects of stress on depressive symptomatology were similar among those with low and high levels of social support. Social support, instead of merely protecting an individual against the negative impact of stress, may itself be important in ameliorating depressive symptoms. Moreover, assuming that lack of perceived or actual social support is not just a manifestation of depression itself, our findings support the corollary that the lack of social support contributes to the creation of depressive symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Measuring depression in the community: a comparison of telephone and personal interviews.

Interview method effects in response to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) are compared among a community sample (N = 546) of adults randomly assigned to either telephone or in-person interviews. The interviews were conducted in Los Angeles during 1980. No significant differences were observed between the two interview methods in nonresponse to symptom items, preference for specific response categories, reliability, mean level of depression, or proportion classified as depressed. Furthermore, no significant interactions were found between sociodemographic characteristics and the method of interview.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Telephone versus in-person surveys of community health status.

Reports of physical morbidity are compared among a community sample of Los Angeles County adults (N = 546) randomly assigned to either in-person or telephone interviews. No statistically significant differences were found between the two interview methods for overall assessment of health status, illnesses reported for the previous four months, or reports of hospitalization. A significantly greater proportion of in-person respondents, however, reported the presence of restricted-activity days during the previous two weeks. This difference could not be directly attributed to sociodemographic characteristics or reported physical health status of the two samples.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Analysis of effects of sex and age in response to items on the CES-D scale.

Analyses of differences in response to individual items in the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale based on sex and age breakdown are reported for a sample of 1,000 adults from Los Angeles County. Overall, results are comparable to those obtained in other population studies. Analyses performed separately for age and sex groups show response differences on individual items which affect the summated score. The interitem correlations are shown to be much higher for women that men, but overall the index assesses a comparable underlying dimension of depression for the two sexes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Prevalence of depression in Los Angeles County.

The occurrence of depression was determined during the summer of 1979 in a multi-ethnic probability sample of 1003 adults (66% participation) in Los Angeles County, as part of a community survey of the epidemiology of depression and help-seeking behavior. The primary measure of depression was the 20-item CES-D scale developed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies. The overall prevalence of depression based on a CES-D cutpoint definition of 16 or greater was 19.1%. The prevalence of depression was greatest among Hispanics (27.4%) and least among whites (15.6%), with blacks and others at an intermediate level (21.8% and 21.2%, respectively). Females (23.5%) were nearly twice as likely to be depressed as males (12.9%). By age, persons 18-24 years reported the highest rate of depression (27.4%), while those 45-64 years reported the lowest (16.3%). As expected, the prevalence of depression was strongly related to family income, with the highest level reported for those earning less than $8500 (29.3%); the lowest level for those earning more than $25,000 (9.0%). After controlling for effects of selected demographic and socioeconomic variables, neither race nor ethnicity were significantly related to the presence of depression. This suggests that the economic strain experienced by many minorities may be an important determinant of higher rates of depression among blacks and Hispanics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Smoking and depression: a community survey.

Smoking status and symptoms of mental depression were determined as part of a community survey of adults in Los Angeles County. Nearly 42 per cent of the males and 31 per cent of the females wee current smokers. Smokers compared to nonsmokers reported significantly higher levels of depression as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression (CES-D) index (10.02 vs 8.76, p < .05). The differences were not significant, however, when analyzed by sex. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the CES-D score when comparing those who had never smoked, ex-smokers, current smokers who wanted to quit, and current smokers who did not want to quit. After controlling in a linear regression analysis for the effects of income, age, employment status, and sex, none of the smoking status variables contributed significantly to explaining the variance of the CES-D score. While both mental depression and smoking are individually major public health problems, the results of this investigation suggest that there is little relationship between the two in the general community.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gender and ethnic differences in the timing of first sexual intercourse.

CONTEXT: Whether the effect of gender on the risk of first intercourse in influenced by adolescents ethnicity has received limited attention in research on age at first sex. Such information could provide a more complete understanding of adolescent sexual behavior. METHODS: Life-table analysis using data from a population-based, ethnically diverse sample of 87/Los Angeles County youths was employed to estimate the median age at first sex for each gender-and-ethnicity group. Multivariate analysis using proportional hazards techniques was conducted to determine the relative risk of sexual activity among teenagers in each group. RESULTS: Overall, the teenagers in the sample had a median age at first sex of 16.9 years. Black males had the lowest observed median (15.0), and Asian American males the highest (18.1); white and Hispanic males, and white and black females, reported similar ages (about 16.5 years). Hispanic and Asian American females had rates of first sex about half that of white females, although these protective effects were explained by differences in family structure. Even after controlling for background characteristics, black males had rates of first sex that were about 3-5 times the rates of the other gender-and-ethnicity groups. In addition, Asian American males were less likely than Hispanic males to be sexually experienced, and Hispanic males had almost twice the rates of sexual activity of Hispanic females. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic conditions account for ethnic differences among females in the age at first sex, and cultural influences may contribute to the difference between Hispanic males and females; explanations for black males, however, remain elusive.

Adolescent↗