title: Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II in nonclinical adolescent samples.
abstract: This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) in samples of high-school adolescents (N=414; 210 boys and 204 girls, ages 14-18 years). Confirmatory factor analyses provided satisfactory fit estimates for the two- and three-factor oblique solutions reported frequently in the extant literature. The solution to a general factor with domain-specific somatic and cognitive-affective factors was examined as an alternative model to previously established models for the current high-school sample data. Results provided stronger support for the general factor model. Estimates of internal consistency for scores on this instrument were high (coefficient alpha=.92, average interitem correlation=.35). The mean BDI-II total score for the nonclinical samples (M=12.50, SD=10.50) was compared with the mean scores reported for various adolescent normative samples in the extant literature. The BDI-II total score correlated moderately and significantly with scores on self-report measures of hopelessness (r=.63), anxiety (r=.53), and suicide-related behaviors (r=.57), providing support of adequate correlates for the BDI-II. Estimates of known-groups validity were evaluated using data from a small sample of 167 clinical adolescent inpatients. Specific study findings, limitations, and recommendations are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249-0652, USA. augustine.osman@gmail.com
authors.forename: Augustine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.forename: Francisco X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bailey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires