Validation of the beck depression inventory-II in a Jamaican university student cohort / Validación del inventario de depresión de beck II en una cohorte de estudiantes universitarios jamaicanos

OBJECTIVE: This project explores the internal consistency reliability and the concurrent and discriminant validity of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) using a wide cross-section of the student population attending the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Students enrolled in UWI Foundation courses during the first and second semesters of the 2005/2006 academic year (n = 690; 77% females, 23% males; mean age = 23.4 +/- 7.4 years) were administered the BDI-II along with the Brief Screen for Depression (BSD), the Centre for Epidemiological Studies--Depression Scale (CES-D) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale--Revised. RESULTS: Overall, the BDI-II was found to have an acceptable degree of reliability (alpha = 0.90). The scale also had reasonably good concurrent validity as evidenced by high correlations with scores on the BSD (r = 0.74) and the CES-D (r = 0.71) and acceptable discriminant validity as demonstrated through moderate correlations with the UCLA Loneliness Scale (r = 0.50). This pattern of scores suggests that the majority of the variance underlying the BDI-II assesses depression (50% to 55%) while a smaller degree of the variability (25%) measures a conceptually similar but distinct concept. CONCLUSION: The BDI-II is a reliable and valid measure for assessing depression within the Jamaican population.

OBJETIVO: Este proyecto explora la fiabilidad de la consistencia interna y la validez discriminante y concurrente del inventario de depresión de Beck II (IDB - II) usando una amplia sección transversal de la población estudiantil que asiste a la Universidad de West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. SUJETOS Y MÉTODOS: A los estudiantes matriculados en los cursos de Fundación de UWI durante el primer y segundo semestres del año académico 2005/2006 (n = 690; 77% hembras 23% varones; edad promedio = 23.4 años B1 7.4) se les aplicó el IDB - II junto con la Prueba Breve para la Detección de la Depresión (BSD), la Escala de Depresión del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos (CES-D), y la Escala Revisada de Soledad de la Universidad de los Ángeles de California. RESULTADOS: En general, se halló que el IDB - II tenía un grado aceptable de fiabilidad (a = 0.90). La escala también tenía una validez concurrente razonablemente tal como lo evidencian las altas correlaciones con las puntuaciones del BSD (r = 0.74) y el CES-D (r = 0.71), y una validez discriminante aceptable como quedó demostrado mediante las correlaciones moderadas con la Escala de Soledad de UCLA (r = 0.50). Este patrón de puntuaciones sugiere que la mayor parte de la varianza que subyace en el IDB - II evalúa la depresión (50% a 55%) mientras que un grado menor de variabilidad (25%) mide un concepto conceptualmente similar pero distinto. CONCLUSIÓN: El IDB - II constituye un instrumento de medición fiable y válido para evaluar la depresión en la población jamaicana.

Validation of the Brief Screen for Depression in a Jamaican cohort / Validación de la prueba breve para la detección de la depresión en una Cohorte Jamaicana

Research on depression in Jamaicans has been limited by the absence of a psychometrically sound measure of depression. This project attempts to rectify this problem by exploring the concurrent and discriminant validity of the Brief Screen for Depression (BSD) using a sample of 244 students attending the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Participants were administered the BSD along with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale - Revised, (UCLA-R) and the Responding Desirably on Attitudes and Opinions scale (RD16). Overall, the BSD was found to have an acceptable level of concurrent validity as evidenced by high correlations with scores on the BDI (0.64) and the CES-D (0.62), and an acceptable level of discriminant validity as demonstrated through moderate correlations with the UCLA Loneliness Scale (0.40). In addition, the BSD was found to possess a moderate degree of sensitivity in identifying individuals who may be experiencing clinically significant symptoms of depression.