Poster #108 - Confirming the Factor Structure for the Children’s Depression Inventory in Gender Expansive Youth

• In Event: Poster Session 17

Abstract

Rates of depression and suicidal ideation are significantly higher in transgender and gender expansive (TGE) youth than in cisgender youth (Becerra-Culqui et al., 2018; Guz et al., 2021; Surace et al., 2021). The Minority Stress Model theorizes that this disparity is due to the social difficulties that TGE youth face due to this minority status, such as family rejection or pressure to conceal their identity (Hendricks & Testa, 2012; Meyer, 2003). Given this high prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation, it is imperative to accurately measure these symptoms in TGE youth. The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI-2) is a well-established measure of youth depression which has been thoroughly examined for reliability and validity in nationally representative samples, which may or may not include TGE youth (Kovacs, 2011). However, no known study has evaluated whether the factor structure of the CDI-2 holds for TGE youth. Additionally, when considering youth mental health, it is important to gather data from multiple informants (Klein et al., 2005) such as self-report and caregiver-report. Further, when examining measures of depression, it is vital to also examine suicidal ideation as these two constructs are intrinsically linked (Carballo et al., 2020). Finally, extant literature has failed to establish clear patterns regarding rates of depression in TGE youth across ages, genders, and sex assigned at birth (Becerra-Culqui et al., 2018; Cheung et al., 2020; Rimes et al., 2019). As such, this study seeks to validate the factor structure of the self-report and caregiver-report of the CDI-2, examine associations between the two reports, examine associations between these reports of depression and youth self-reports of suicidal ideation, and explore bivariate associations between self- and caregiver-reports of depression and age, gender, and sex assigned at birth in a sample of treatment seeking TGE youth. Participants include 182 TGE youth ranging from ages 10 to 17 (m=14.66, SD=1.715) and their primary caregiver who sought gender-related services at a pediatric gender clinic. See Table 1 for preliminary sample demographics.
First, we hypothesize that the original factor structure for the CDI-2 caregiver-report and self-report will be confirmed for the current sample. The CFA for the CDI-2 caregiver-report is expected to fit the author-reported 2-factor solution which loads onto a single higher-order factor (Kovacs, 2011). The CFA for the CDI-2 self-report is expected to support the model reported by the authors: a hierarchical factor model with 4 secondary factors loading onto 2 primary factors (2 each), which then loaded onto 1 higher order factor (see Figure 1; Kovacs, 2011).
Second, we hypothesize that scores on the CDI-2 caregiver-report and scores on the CDI-2 self-report will be correlated with one another.
Third, we hypothesize that scores on each CDI-2 report will be correlated with suicidal ideation, with the association between the CDI-2 self-report and suicidal ideation having a stronger link than the association between the CDI-2 caregiver-report and suicidal ideation.
Fourth, associations between age, gender, and sex assigned at birth and depression among TGE youth will be explored.

Authors

• Rachel Doyle, University of Kansas
  Presenting Author

• Paula Fite, University of Kansas

• Christy L Olezeski, Yale School of Medicine