Open AccessDetecting Depression in People Living with HIV in South Africa: The Factor Structure and Convergent Validity of the South African Depression Scale (SADS)
Author(s) -
Lena S. Andersen,
John A. Joska,
Jessica F. Magidson,
Conall O’Cleirigh,
Jasper S. Lee,
Ashraf Kagee,
Jade Abigail Witten,
Steven A. Safren
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aids and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.994
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1573-3254
pISSN - 1090-7165
DOI - 10.1007/s10461-020-02787-4
Subject(s) - convergent validity , exploratory factor analysis , psychology , clinical psychology , depression (economics) , distress , lethargy , sadness , anhedonia , psychiatry , major depressive disorder , xhosa , psychometrics , medicine , cognition , internal consistency , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , linguistics , philosophy , anger , economics , macroeconomics
Screening measures for depression developed in high-income countries have not always demonstrated strong psychometric properties in South Africa and with people living with HIV (PLWH). The present study explored the psychometric properties of the 16-item South African Depression Scale (SADS) comprised of idioms of distress specific to isiXhosa culture in PLWH. The SADS was administered to 137 Xhosa-speaking PLWH who met diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) together with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). We conducted exploratory factor analysis, correlation, and reliability statistics. Four factors of the SADS emerged: Sadness, lethargy/burdened, anhedonia/withdrawal, and cognitive/somatic. All factors correlated significantly with the HAM-D and CES-D. Internal consistency of the overall measure was high (α = .89). The SADS promises to be a robust measure of depression in isiXhosa-speaking PLWH in South Africa likely due to the inclusion of local idioms of distress.