Psychometric Properties of a Persian Version of the Short Form of the Beck Depression Inventory for Iranian College Students
The psychometric properties of the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory were studied in two Iranian groups. The inventory was translated into Persian and 12 Iranian bilingual judges confirmed the soundness of the translation. The sample comprised two groups of Iranian college students, and data were analyzed separately for each group. Group I consisted of 232 Iranian students (156 men, 76 women) who were studying in American universities, and Group II comprised 305 Iranian students (168 men, 137 women) studying in Iranian universities. In addition to the depression inventory, measures of anxiety, neuroticism, psychoticism, loneliness, misanthropy, locus of control, self-esteem, and extroversion were obtained. The item-total score correlations were mostly in the upper fifties and sixties. The coefficient alpha estimates of reliability were .85 and .83 in Groups I and II, respectively. Descriptive statistics and test-retest reliability were reported. Significantly positive correlations between the scores of the depression inventory and measures of anxiety, neuroticism, psychoticism, loneliness, misanthropy and externality of locus of control were found. Negative correlations also were obtained between scores on the depression inventory and self-esteem, and extroversion. Comparisons of the two samples of male and female subjects supported the construct validity of the inventory. The results provided evidence which supported the validity and reliability of the depression inventory in Iranian college students.