Running head: THE JEFFERS DEPRESSION SELF-ASSESSMENT 1
The Jeffers Depression Self-Assessment
I have abided by the Spelman Academic Integrity Policy on this assignment:
Ashlana Jeffers
Spelman College
The Jeffers Depression Self-Assessment 2
Abstract
Depression is an emotional state where an individual has lost the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life,
even the simplest ones. The individual may suffer from fatigue, low self-esteem, and reduced energy
amongst other things. Depression is a prevalent disorder that individuals suffer from, but they might
not know the symptoms related to this particular disorder. The purpose of this self-assessment is to
provide a clinical instrument that can differentiate between depressed/non-depressed individuals,
measure the severity of depression, if it is detected, while screening and capturing the depressive
symptoms in young African American women. The test was administered in Theory of Psychometrics
Instrument Course at Spelman College to 16 African American female students, ranging from ages 18–
24, to measure the severity of depression they may or may not experience. Results of this test indicated
that the sample overall had low to mild levels of depression (M= 27.19, SD= 6.92).
Keywords: depression, self-assessment, symptoms, severity, measures
The Jeffers Depression Self-Assessment 3
Introduction
Clinical depression is more than life’s “ups” and “downs.” Life is full of joy and pain,
happiness and sorrow. It is normal to feel sad when a loved one dies, or when you are sick, going
through a divorce, or having financial problems. But for some people the sadness does not go away, or
keeps coming back. If your “blues” last more than a few weeks or cause you to struggle with daily life,
you may be suffering from clinical depression. In my studies I have seen that African American women
are often in denial. Clinical depression is not a personal weakness, gracelessness or faithlessness—it is
a common, yet serious, medical illness. Clinical depression is a “whole–body” illness that affects your
mood, thoughts, body and behavior. Fatigue, low self-esteem, and reduced energy amongst other things
are symptoms of depression. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months or years.
Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who have clinical depression. Clinical
depression can affect anyone: Anyone can experience clinical depression, regardless of race, gender,
age, creed or income. Every year more than 19 million Americans suffer from some type of depressive
illness. According to a Surgeon General report, African Americans are over-represented in populations
that are particularly at risk for mental illness. Depression robs people of the enjoyment found in daily
life and can even lead to suicide. A common myth about depression is that it is “normal” for certain
people to feel depressed—older people, teenagers, new mothers, menopausal women, or those with a
chronic illness. The truth is that depression is not a normal part of life for any African American,
regardless of age or life situation. Unfortunately, depression has often been misdiagnosed in the
African American community.
According to research, in 2004 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
guidelines on the management of depression in primary and secondary care emphasized the importance
of measuring depression severity to target the condition with an appropriate intervention. (Cameron
2008). The purpose of this self-assessment is to provide a clinical instrument that can differentiate
The Jeffers Depression Self-Assessment 4
between depressed/non-depressed individuals, measure the severity of depression, if it is detected,
while screening and capturing the depressive symptoms in young African American women. This is test
is needed because it centralizing African American women at the same university that may be disposed
to the same conditions that may have effects on their emotional state that would lead to depression. It is
important and essential because then you can narrow down the attributors to why they may suffer from
depression. Four other tests have been completed in the area of depression and here are their purposes.
The purpose of the PHQ-9 and HADS-D is to assess the severity of depression in primary
care(Cameron, Crawford, Lawton, etal., 2008). Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) – consists of
nine questions that relate to the nine diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder identified in the
DSM-IV. The items are rated 0 to 3 based on the prevalence of experiencing issues in that particular
area that is being focused on, scores can range from 0-27 and then scores are interpreted as no
depression, minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, or severe depression. Depression subscale of
the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D)– consists of 14 questions, rates on a scale of 0 to
3 based on the severity of the difficulty participant may be experiencing, scores are interpreted as mild,
moderate, or severe difficulty. The 11-item Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale acts as a diagnostic
and screening scale for adolescent depression and promotes monitoring over time (Shahidi & Shojaee,
2014). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Scale-revised 10-item version for adolescents (CESDR-
10) is used to assess adolescent depressive symptoms in the appropriate samples (Haroz, Ybarra, &
Eaton, 2014). As you can see most psychological test that measure the construct of depression, focus
more on diagnosing and screening adolescents than adult African American females.
The target audience is the same as women I tested because research has indicated that often
time’s African American women are unaware that they are suffering from depression. African
American women often times suffer from depression and due to societal standards set in the African
American community they do not seek treatment or help. African American women are at high rates of
depression but low rates of treatment. African American women are amongst the lowest rate of
The Jeffers Depression Self-Assessment 5
treatment for depression than any other group in America and can have significantly bad outcomes for
the community. Certain factors such as poverty level, gender discrimination, and parenting particularly
in poverty stricken black women depression were very prevalent. Lack of health insurance and shame
and embarrassment attributes to the low levels of treatment in black women. Black women experience
depression at a different rate than most subgroups because of racial and gender difference that affect
them. The ideal population for this test would be young African American female adults recruited
through convenience sample, ranging in ages 17-25, all residents of the United States where the test can
be administered equally across the nation. The ideal sample size would be 5,000 to provide a strong
generalization to all young African American female adults in the United States. These women may or
may not have experienced depression during or currently their lifetime and the severity if present, that’s
what my test is going to determine by identifying certain symptoms of depression.
Method
