title: Standardized Beck Depression Inventory-II scores for male veterans coping with chronic pain.
abstract: The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) has been suspected of overestimating the level of depression in individuals that endure chronic pain. Using a sample (N = 345) of male military veterans with chronic pain enrolled in an outpatient treatment program, a factor analysis on the BDI-II revealed a "Somatic Complaints" factor along with 2 other factors we labeled "Negative Rumination" and "Mood." Standardized scores were provided for each BDI-II factor score, Total score, and Total minus Somatic score. The internal consistency reliabilities (Gilmer-Feldt and alpha coefficients) for all scores were found to be clinically acceptable. Item-Total score correlations found that all of the BDI-II items were good discriminators (r > .30). We conclude that the normative data provided in this study should help control for somatic responding by male chronic pain veterans on the BDI-II. We highly recommend that clinicians and researchers use the norm-referenced method when interpreting BDI-II scores from individuals suffering from chronic pain.
authors.affiliation: NeuropsychologyTesting Laboratory, Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Long Beach, California, USA. michael.lopez@va.gov
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Russell S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Ricca D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Hanson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult