title: Depressive symptoms in people with and without alcohol abuse: factor structure and measurement invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) across groups.
abstract: This study explored differences in the factor structure of depressive symptoms in patients with and without alcohol abuse, and differences in the severity of depressive symptoms between the two groups. In a sample of 358 patients without alcohol problems and 167 patients with comorbid alcohol problems, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the same factor structures, Beck et al.'s two-factor Somatic Affective-Cognitive (SA-C) model, and Buckley et al.'s three-factor Cognitive-Affective- Somatic (C-A-S) model, demonstrated the best fit to the data in both groups. The SA-C model was preferred due to its more parsimonious nature. Evidence for strict measurement invariance across the two groups for the SA-C model was found. MIMIC (multiple-indicator-multiple-cause) modeling showed that the level of depressive symptoms was found to be highest on both factors in the group with comorbid alcohol problems. The magnitude of the differences in latent mean scores suggested a moderate difference in the level of depressive symptoms between the two groups. It is argued that patients with comorbid depression and alcohol abuse should be offered parallel and adequate treatment for both conditions.
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Center Vinderen, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Cecilie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Skule
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Pål
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ulleberg
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Center Vinderen, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dallavara Lending
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Center Vinderen, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Torkil
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berge
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ; Vestfold Mental Health Care Trust, Tønsberg, Norway.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Egeland
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brennen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Nils Inge
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Landrø
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000465:Algorithms; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063189:Symptom Assessment