Dimensions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II in clinically depressed outpatients

J Clin Psychol. 1999 Jan;55(1):117-28. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199901)55:1<117::aid-jclp12>3.0.co;2-a.

Abstract

To ascertain the dimensions of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) in clinically depressed outpatients, exploratory factor analyses were performed with the BDI-II responses of 210 adult (> or =18 years) outpatients who were diagnosed with DSM-IV depressive disorders. Two factors representing Somatic-Affective and Cognitive dimensions were found whose compositions were comparable to those previously reported by Beck, Steer, and Brown (1996) for psychiatric outpatients in general. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis supported a model in which the BDI-II reflected one underlying second-order dimension of self-reported depression composed of two first-order factors representing cognitive and noncognitive symptoms. The clinical utility of using subscales based on these two latter first-order symptom dimensions was discussed.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Affect
  • Cognition
  • Depressive Disorder / classification*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / standards
  • Sensitivity and Specificity