FACTOR STRUCTURE AND PSYCHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BECK-DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II

The present study evaluated the factor structure and psychometric prop erties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steel; & Bro wn, 1996) in the nonclinical sample of 230 young adults. The BDI-lI is a revised version of the BDI-IA. We evaluated the fit of three altern ative models to the sample data, using confirmatory factor analysis. R esults provided support for the fit of the oblique three-factor model. The BDI-II and factor scales had satisfactory coefficient alpha indic es. We obtained gender differences on the BDI-II item, total: and fact or scale scores. We examined the relations of the BDI-II with demograp hic variables and with other self-report measures of social desirabili ty, anxiety, depression, stress, and self-esteem. We also examined the issue of whether specific self-report measures of anxiety and depress ion assess separate or different constructs. We discuss the limitation s of the present study.