Assessment of Measurement Equivalence of the Communities That Care Brief Depression Scale by Immigrant Generation Status in Latinx Youth

We assessed the Communities That Care Brief Depression Scale (CTC-BDS) for measurement equivalence for Latinx and white youth by immigrant generation status. The sample consisted of 1779 youth (17.8% Latinx children of immigrants [COI], 9.3% Latinx children of non-immigrants [CONI], 72.8% non-Latinx white CONI) surveyed in sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. We used one-factor confirmatory factor analysis to examine equivalent assessment across groups at each grade and across all grades, testing configural, metric, and scalar equivalence. Individual and incremental model fit statistics were examined. We found evidence for both the one-factor structure and for measurement equivalence of the CTC-BDS across ethnicity and immigrant generation status, as well as grades over the course of adolescence. The CTC-BDS is an appropriate measure in community monitoring and research to compare depressive symptoms in Latinx youth of varying immigrant generation statuses and white youth.