title: Demographic influences and suggested cut-scores for the Beck Depression Inventory in a non-clinical Spanish speaking population from the US-Mexico border region.
abstract: The Beck Depression Inventory-I (BDI-I) is a self-report measure of depressive symptomatology that is widely used in both research and clinical settings. While the Spanish language version of the BDI-I is frequently used in the USA, there are currently no available guidelines to determine depressive symptomatology base rates in Spanish speaking populations using this instrument. In the present study, base rates of depressive symptoms and demographic influences on the BDI-I were measured in a non-clinical Spanish speaking population from the US-Mexico border region. A sample of 198 neurologically normal Spanish speaking individuals, mostly of Mexican decent, completed the BDI-I as part of a larger neuropsychological norming study. The results indicated that while there were no effects of age or education on overall BDI-I scores, those with lower education tended to report higher severity of individual symptoms. Consistent with findings in other populations, women endorsed a greater number of depressive symptoms. Therefore separate cut-scores were derived for men and women to represent these differences. Future research should assess the impact of acculturation and socioeconomic stressors on the BDI scores in this mostly immigrant population.
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Dawes
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vaida
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Marcotte
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA ; VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heaton
authors.affiliation: HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cherner
keywords: Hispanic; Spanish-speaking; cross-cultural assessment; depression; normative; score cut-points