Abstract
The current study examined factorial invariance of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) using a convenience sample of 434 adults surveyed though Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were sorted into two groups based on their score on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. Results indicated that the CESD-R did not demonstrate configural invariance. The DASS-21 demonstrated evidence of scalar invariance, indicating cross-group equality in factor loadings and factor intercepts. Findings suggest that the DASS-21 measures symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress consistently across individuals with high and low levels of ASD-related traits, whereas the CESD-R may not be valid when assessing symptoms of depression in those with a high level of ASD-related traits.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, NR, upon reasonable request.
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McKernan, E.P., Russo, N. Investigating the Structure of the CESD-R and DASS-21 Across Adults with Low and High Levels of Autistic Traits. J Autism Dev Disord 54, 2026–2039 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-05944-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-05944-5