The Conception of Depression in Chinese American College Students

The conception of depression in Chinese American college students was examined with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). It was hypothesized that, because of their significant engagement with mainstream American culture, these students' conception of depression would better approximate White Americans' differentiated view ( L. Radloff, 1977 ) than the general Chinese American community's integrated view ( Y. Ying, 1988 ). A total of 353 bicultural Chinese American college students participated in the study. Consistent with the hypothesis, principal-components factor analysis with varimax rotation revealed a factor structure and loading similar to that found in White American adults. Confirmatory factor analysis also showed Chinese American college students to better approximate Radloff's differentiated model based on her White American samples than Ying's integrated model based on her Chinese American community sample. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.