Response tendencies, ethnicity, and depression scores.

The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale was given to a sample of whites, blacks, and Mexican-Americans residing in Alameda County, California, in 1978. Scores on the scale were analyzed to see whether or not a potentially important source of bias called response tendencies affected prevalence estimates and associations between symptom scores and demographic variables. Response tendencies were found to be differentially correlated with symptom scores by ethnic status; however, their effects were not of sufficient magnitude to alter most associations observed between symptom scores and demographic variables. The need for further methodological studies to clarify the definitions of concepts such as "depression" is discussed.