ERIC Number: EJ957899
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0091-0627
EISSN: N/A
Measurement Equivalence across Racial/Ethnic Groups of the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire for Childhood Depression
Banh, My K.; Crane, Paul K.; Rhew, Isaac; Gudmundsen, Gretchen; Stoep, Ann Vander; Lyon, Aaron; McCauley, Elizabeth
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, v40 n3 p353-367 Apr 2012
As research continues to document differences in the prevalence of mental health problems such as depression across racial/ethnic groups, the issue of measurement equivalence becomes increasingly important to address. The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) is a widely used screening tool for child and adolescent depression. This study applied a differential item functioning (DIF) framework to data from a sample of 6th and 8th grade students in the Seattle Public School District (N = 3,593) to investigate the measurement equivalence of the MFQ. Several items in the MFQ were found to have DIF, but this DIF was associated with negligible individual- or group-level impact. These results suggest that differences in MFQ scores across groups are unlikely to be caused by measurement non-equivalence.
Descriptors: Ethnic Groups, Adolescents, Measures (Individuals), Grade 6, Grade 8, Depression (Psychology), Mental Disorders, Incidence, Racial Differences, Test Bias, Public Schools, Measurement Techniques
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Grade 6; Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A