Psihometrijske karakteristike Bekove skale depresivnosti na uzorku studenata u Srbiji
Psychometric Characteristics of the Beck Depression Inventory on a Serbian Student Sample

Summary/Abstract: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is one of the most popular instruments for measuring intensity and symptoms of depression in clinical and general population. The instrument has been translated into many languages and validated in many different cultures, but there is still no published paper on psychometric characteristics and the norms for the BDI in Serbian language. In this paper, we checked psychometric characteristics of the BDI-II on 400 students of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. Descriptive statistics (M=8.02; SD=7.10), internal consistency (α=.87), and test-retest reliability (.63) are satisfactory and similar to the results of other validation studies. Convergent and divergent validity of the instrument are also supported by moderate to high correlations with the measures of similar phenomena (r=.70 with Depression Symptoms Scale) and by low correlations with unrelated constructs (i.e., r=.19 with Impulsive Sensation Seeking Scale). However, the divergent validity is not supported by a high correlation with a measure of anxiety (r=.70), similar finding is commonly obtained in other validation studies. Our results suggest cut-off scores which are similar to those suggested by Canadian authors (Kappa coefficient=.85). Two-factor structure of the inventory is also in concordance with other authors. Cognitive-Affective factor explains 29.27% of the variance and its structure resembles those reported in other analyses. The second extracted factor explains 7.76% of the variance and is saturated mostly with somatic items; however, a significant contribution of some cognitive items has led us to identify the factor as Exhaustion, specific to our student sample. The two-factor solution is confirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analyses once the item related to sexual difficulties was eliminated. General conclusion is that BDI-II has satisfactory psychometric characteristics and can reliably be used with Serbian student population.

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