title: Evaluation of the internal consistency, factor structure, and validity of the Depression Change Expectancy Scale.
abstract: The psychometric properties and predictive validity of the Depression Change Expectancy Scale (DCES), a modification of an expectancy scale originally developed for patients with anxiety disorders, were examined in two studies. In Study 1, the 20-item scale was administered along with a battery of questionnaires to a sample of 416 dysphoric undergraduate students and demonstrated good internal consistency. A two-factor solution most parsimoniously accounted for the variance, with one factor containing all pessimistically worded items (DCES-P) and the second containing all optimistically worded items (DCES-O). The DCES-P showed patterns of correlations with other measures of related constructs consistent with hypothesized relationships; the DCES-O showed similar, but weaker, relationships with the other measures. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the predictive utility of the DCES in a clinical sample of 63 adults (Study 2). Improved depressive symptoms (over 6 weeks) were strongly associated with optimistic expectancies but were unrelated to pessimistic expectancies for change. The DCES appears to be a promising measure of expectancies for improvement among individuals with depressive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA kmedding@uncg.edu.
authors.forename: Kari M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Eddington
authors.affiliation: University of Western Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: David J A
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dozois
authors.affiliation: Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Barb J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Backs-Dermott
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Depression Change Expectancy Scale; expectancies; measurement; test validation; treatment outcome