Table 2.

Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) Scores in Whites, Blacks, and Mexican Americans

	Mean ± Standard Deviation
CES-D Item	Whites	Blacks	Mexican American
(Possible Range of Scores in Each Item: 0–3)	(n 5 1,876)	(n 5 464)	(n 5 2,623)	F
1. I was bothered by things that usually don't bother me.	0.44 ± 0.81	0.36 ± 0.79	0.43 ± 0.78	1.6
2. I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor.	0.35 ± 0.78	0.43 ± 0.85	0.35 ± 0.71	2.6^‡,^∥
3. I felt that I could not shake off the blues even with help from my family or friends.	0.33 ± 0.73	0.28 ± 0.66	0.37 ± 0.74	4.4^*,^§,^∥
4. I felt that I was just as good as other people.	0.29 ± 0.77	0.26 ± 0.71	0.87 ± 1.21	203.7^***,^§,^∥
5. I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing.	0.40 ± 0.76	0.34 ± 0.67	0.43 ± 0.75	2.8 ^k
6. I felt depressed.	0.50 ± 0.81	0.44 ± 0.76	0.54 ± 0.81^*,^k	3.6
7. I felt everything was an effort.	0.51 ± 0.90	0.55 ± 0.96	0.61 ± 0.92	7.6^***,^§
8. I felt hopeful about the future. ^†	0.93 ± 1.22	0.99 ± 1.23	0.94 ± 1.16	0.5
9. I thought my life had been a failure.	0.20 ± 0.60	0.20 ± 0.61	0.26 ± 0.64	5.3^**,^§,^∥
10. I felt fearful.	0.27 ± 0.63	0.29 ± 0.68	0.32 ± 0.66	4.3^*,^§
11. My sleep was restless.	0.59 ± 0.98	0.50 ± 0.86	0.55 ± 0.90	1.9
12. I was happy.	0.62 ± 0.99	0.52 ± 0.89	0.85 ± 1.07	39.5^***,,^§,^∥
13. I talked less than usual.	0.35 ± 0.79	0.36 ± 0.79	0.39 ± 0.75	1.4
14. I felt lonely.	0.50 ± 0.87	0.48 ± 0.84	0.47 ± 0.83	0.7
15. People were unfriendly.	0.20 ± 0.59	0.37 ± 0.79	0.25 ± 0.68	13.5^,^‡,^§,^∥*
16. I enjoyed life. ^†	0.46 ± 0.91	0.34 ± 0.75	0.91 ± 1.12	139.0^***,^‡,^§,^∥
17. I had crying spells.	0.21 ± 0.58	0.14 ± 0.50	0.42 ± 0.78	66.5^***,^§,^k
18. I felt sad.	0.44 ± 0.72	0.43 ± 0.73	0.54 ± 0.83	10.5^***,^§,^∥
19. I felt people disliked me.	0.11 ± 0.43	0.25 ± 0.64	0.18 ± 0.53	19.0^***,^‡,^§,^∥
20. I could not get going.	0.34 ± 0.71	0.34 ± 0.69	0.35 ± 0.73	1.3

^†

Reverse-coded item.

^‡

A significant mean difference between whites and blacks was obtained at the .05 level.

^§

A significant mean difference between whites and Hispanics was obtained at the .05 level.

A significant mean difference between blacks and Hispanics was obtained at the .05 level.

P<.05

^**

P<.01

^***

P<.001.