Background: The 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D 8) has been widely used to measure depressive symptoms in many large-scale surveys. Due to its brevity, it can lower costs, relieve respondent burdens, and ensure data quality. However, its factor structure and measurement invariance across gender and time among adolescents have not been adequately evaluated. This study investigated its factor structure and measurement invariance across gender and time among adolescents. Methods: The data was drawn from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) conducted in 2018 and 2020, with 3099 participants (46.82% girls) aged 11 to 18 in 2018. First, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the factor structure of the CES-D 8. Next, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test its measurement invariance across gender and time. Finally, a longitudinal cross-gender test was conducted to further confirm the stability of the scale. Results: A two-factor structure was identified among the adolescents, including Negative Symptoms and Diminished Happiness Feeling. Measurement invariance across gender and time, as well as the longitudinal cross-gender invariance, was supported, with configural, factor loadings, thresholds and residual invariance. Conclusions: The factor structure of the CES-D 8 remains stable across gender and time among adolescents, indicating that it is a promising instrument for measuring depressive symptoms, especially in large-scale and longitudinal surveys.

Background: Previous research found that college students have exhibited a group of concern, and aggressive behavior occurs from time to time in daily life. In order to investigate the effect of relative deprivation on aggressive behavior of college students, this study conducted a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between relative deprivation, aggressive behavior, belief in a just world, and moral disengagement. Methods: 1169 college students(71.7% female; mean age = 19.41, SD = 1.3, range = 17-30years) participated in and completed measures of Relative Deprivation Questionnaire, Belief in a Just World Scale, Moral disengagement Scale and Aggression Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using a moderated mediation model with SPSS and Process 3.1 macro. Results: The results revealed that: (1) Relative deprivation significantly positively predicted college students’ aggressive behavior controlling for gender, grade, and age (B = 0.45, p＜0.001). (2) Belief in a just world played mediating role in relative deprivation and aggressive behavior(indirect effect = 0.04, 95%CI = [0.002,0.007], accounting for 9% of the total effect). (3) The moderated mediator model test showed that moral disengagement regulates the first half of the mediator effect path (B = 0.71, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The present study analyzed the moral disengagement mechanisms deeply and shed light on how to decrease the aggressive behavior of college students.