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The use of the CES-D for measuring symptoms of depression in three rural Russian villages

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Abstract

This paper reports the use of a standardized depression scale (CES-D) in a sample survey of three Russian villages (N=263) in the summer of 1993. The analysis shows a good response rate on all items, except for two. The internal consistency of the scale is good (alpha reliability is 0.79), and the factor loadings are sensible and relatively high.

There is a greater percentage of the respondents in rural Russia who showed symptoms of depression compared to the percentage of respondents who showed symptoms of depression in other studies. Greater levels of depression were found among respondents who were elderly, in poor health, who were women, divorced or separated, and had little social support.

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This research was supported by funds from International Agriculture Programs, College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, University of Missouri-Columbia, including the Dorris D. & Christine M. Brown Graduate Research Fellowship, and the Institute for the Socio-Economic Studies of Population, Russian Academy of Sciences. We want to thank Professor Charles Timberlake, Department of History, University of Missouri for assistance with Russian language literature pertinent to understanding the Russian villages.

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Dershem, L.D., Patsiorkovski, V.V. & O'Brien, D.J. The use of the CES-D for measuring symptoms of depression in three rural Russian villages. Soc Indic Res 39, 89–108 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300834

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