title: [Clinical validity of the Beck Depression Inventory. A facet theoretical re-analysis of multicenter clinical observations].
abstract: The items of the Beck Depression Inventory are reanalyzed by a non-metric multidimensional scaling procedure (Smallest Space Analysis, SSA-I). The structure of the test items is characterized within the framework of Guttman's facet theory. Two systematic components (facets) are discerned: "centrality" and "aspect". Properties of the facets as well as their relations are assessed and examined empirically by analyzing the interrelations among the items. The spatial configurations obtained by the scaling procedure fit the expectations derived from the facet-theoretic model. The facet "centrality" was found to have a strong overriding influence over the "aspect" facet. The results suggest the introduction of a new combination and selection of items reflecting different facets of depression consistently over time.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatrische Klinik, Rheinisch-Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Steinmeyer
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
vernacular_title: Zur klinischen Validität des Beck-Depressionsinventars. Eine facettentheoretische Reanalyse multizentrischer klinischer Beobachtungsdaten.