A Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Among English- and Spanish-Speaking Latinas

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2011-07, Vol.17 (3), p.309-316
• Main Authors: Merz, Erin L, Malcarne, Vanessa L, Roesch, Scott C, Riley, Natasha, Sadler, Georgia Robins
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: California; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Depression (Psychology); Depression - diagnosis; Depression - ethnology; English as Second Language; Factor Analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Females; Health Problems; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - psychology; Human; Human Females; Humans; Language; Latin American Cultural Groups; Latinos/Latinas; Major Depression; Male; Mental Health; Minority Groups; Patients; Primary Health Care; Psychometrics; Psychometrics - instrumentation; Psychometrics - standards; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Translations
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/a0023883

Depression is a significant problem for ethnic minorities that remains understudied partly due to a lack of strong measures with established psychometric properties. One screening tool, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), which was developed for use in primary care has also gained popularity in research settings. The reliability and validity of the PHQ-9 has been well established among predominantly Caucasian samples, in addition to many minority groups. However, there is little evidence regarding its utility among Hispanic Americans, a large and growing cultural group in the United States. In this study, we investigated the reliability and structural validity of the PHQ-9 in Hispanic American women. A community sample of 479 Latina women from southern California completed the PHQ-9 in their preferred language of English or Spanish. Cronbach's alphas suggested that there was good internal consistency for both the English- and Spanish-language versions. Structural validity was investigated using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Results support a similar one-factor structure with equivalent response patterns and variances among English- and Spanish-speaking Latinas. These results suggest that the PHQ-9 can be used with confidence in both English and Spanish versions to screen Latinas for depression.