Validity and reliability of the Dari version of the CES-D scale among the general population of Herat, Afghanistan: A methodological study

Abstract

Background: Depression is considered one of the significant pressing public health problems globally. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale is valuable for assessing subthreshold depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate various aspects of the CES-D scale's validity and reliability in the Afghan population. Method: This methodological study was conducted between 6th June 2021 and 12th July 2021 among the general population in the Herat province of Afghanistan. A total of 424 participants filled out the questionnaires provided to them. The forward-backward translation method translated the CES-D scale into the Dari language. The data was statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24.0 and AMOS version 24.0 software for Windows. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess the factor structure (CFA). The reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, inter-item correlation, and total item correlation. Result: The exploratory factor analysis resulted in three factors (Depressed affect & Somatic complaints factor, the Interpersonal factor, and the Positive affect factor). The CFA result suggested that the resulted model of the Dari version of the CES-D scale with 19 items was the best fit for our data. The Cronbach’s alpha for the 19 items scale was 0.874. Conclusion: The results of this study show that the Dari version of the CES-D scale is valid and reliable to use among the general population of Herat province of Afghanistan. The scale can assess depression and its symptoms among the population mentioned above with confidence.

Keywords

• ces-d scale
• depression
• validity
• reliability
• cultural adaptation
• herat-afghanistan